This page allows you to follow the construction progress of the empennage sub-kit.

Empennage kit includes rudder, vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer, elevators, trim tab and tail cone.

I will try to add comments for each picture and video explaining why this was taken.

Long waited kit arrived
Time to open
This is what looks like inside
Inventory and storage
My dad is helping to unpack
Three is a crowd
Started vertical stab
Started to prime
Started to look like vertical Stab
Time to add rear spar
Rudder ribs assembly
Check, double-check, triple-check
Rudder final drill, deburr
porcupine stage of rudder
Trailing edge seems streight
First mistake, new skin ordered
Deburr and round flanges of ribs
Another pic of rounding flange edge

Well folks, here it is; my first mistake. You can see the rolled skin that was shipped to me from Van's. That's because when I was dimpling my original skin the pneumatic squeezer missed the per-punched hole and I made a new one next to it. It was cheap enough to buy a new skin instead of trying to repair. Lesson learned, even though you can do most of the project alone, if you can get help, get it. Put your ego aside. If someone was holding the skin i wouldn't mess it up.

Work those flanges. Deburring
Rudder skins joining with goo and rivet
Horizontal stab main spar and doubler
Horizontal stab. main spar riveted
Horizontal stabilizer ribs
Rudder leading edge

Be careful when you are rolling the leading edges. Don't rush. You can wrinkle the skin.

Inside view. Rolled leading edge
Corrected inside view of leading edge
Completed rudder

Note that on the first picture overlapping skins are rolled too much and don't sit flat. The pop-rivet is not pulling them together either. The next picture shows that it has been corrected.

Horizontal stab ribs
Horizontal stab ribs assambly
Horizontal stab ribs assembly

Starting with the horizontal stabilizer's construction. This is long and uncomfortable to work with in a tight garage, but I am starting to get excited as I see parts coming together.

Dimpling horizontal stab skin
Cleco'd skin to check for the fit
On the stand
It's a tight fit to rivet leading edge
Starting to rivet regardless
Elevator ribs

First two pics are showing testing the fit and riveting the horizontal stabilizer's skins. One side was easy, the second side already gets really tight an hard to do. Especially at the time I didn't have the Tungsten bucking bars. I do suggest everyone to get this from the beginning. Check out my Tools page for more info.

Also, simultaneously starting with the elevator assembly (third picture)

Friends helping with Horizontal Stab
Holes are not matching. This is not good
Elevator skin. My wife helps

Friends are helping. Looks like horizontal stabilizer is almost done. But wait, holes are not matching? This is bad 🙂

Just need to rivet the last piece
Horizontal stab assembly almost done
Skins done. fitting rear spar

Horizontal stab is almost done. just need to cleco the last piece.

Elevator leading edge rolling
Closer look elevator skin rolling
Trim attached

Elevators are almost done. Sorry. I was so into building it, I forgot to take some photos. Actually i notice that i do that a lot. I wish I was more disciplined in that area.

My brother helps with trim cap nut plates
Things get tougher. Called my dad to help
Wires are out for tab trim

I made a mistake. I used wrong nut plates for trim tab assembly door. Ended up drilling it out with my brother and dad and installing the new ones. It wasn't easy since i had the skin attached already. But we did it.

Bottom of tailcone (upside down)
Here is a side view. attaching bulkheads
Note the primer as I put them together

Starting rear part of the fuselage (tailcone) assembly. this part comes with the empennage kit.

getting excited as things come together
Deburring. Curved areas are hard
Starting to run the wiring

Starting rear part of the fuselage (tailcone) assembly. this part comes with the empennage kit.

This wasn't as easy as it looks
Wiring takes time to do it right
Here are more wiring.

I love this part of the assembly. For some reason always loved to work with electricity and wiring.

And more wiring
fitting the skin and getting ready fo riveting
Side view of the skin fitting

I love this part of the assembly. For some reason always loved to work with electricity and wiring.

Soft rivets. Punches out the stem.
Here is the back side.
Rivet used for static port.

First two pictures above are showing the rivets that hold a plastic wire guides. Understandably soft rivets used here not to pull through the plastic but I was surprised when the stem of the rivet pulled right out. I tried so many that I ran out. End up calling Van's support. they said it is fine and expected. There are no forces and it's just to hold the plastic in place. I ordered more rivets and finished it up. the last picture is another rivet that pulls the stem right out. this rivet is used as a static port for pitot-static system. Kind of weird but I guess it works. See below for the placement.

Static port hose is in
left static port hookup
right static port hookup

Pitot-static system hose assembly. I don't particularly like the solution of the ports. They used rivets. If I knew they had another option selling at Van's I would probably go with that. But now I think it is too late. This will work as well I guess.

Static port hose run through
Out and hanging
Fin attached
Side view of the attached fin. First try
Skin riveting. Definitely need help
Things coming together

Starting to assemble parts together. This is really exciting. People finally can see this is an airplane tail. Until know they thought I am building a boat.

Horizontal stab assembly
Puting them together
Another view
Opps! Why the gap?
Still trying to figure out what was wrong
I got it. Mistake reveled at the end

It took me a while to figure out what's going on, then it hit me. In the very first section of the empennage construction I made a mistake that didn't reveal itself until the very last section of the construction. I flash-riveted from the wrong side. Ended up ordering another plate from Van's as the original one had enlarged holes by the time I drilled out the rivets.

This is not a good day
I need a solution. Call Van's
Here is the better view of where the crack is

This really turned out to be a very bad day. I noticed that one of the rivets were not squeezed good enough so decided to give another squeeze. Bad idea. It cracked the flange. I called Van's, sent them the pictures and they suggested to put a doubler. See the next set of pictures below for the solution.

Added doubler from a same material
One was universal head and one pop
Here is another view of the fix

The suggestion from Van's support team was to add a doubler with the same material which I made from another unused rib. The work area was very tight and hard to get the rivet gun or a squeezer there. I finally was able to rivet one AN 470 universal head rivet and for the second one I used a pop rivet. this is the farthest from the crack and would only serve to keep the doubler from swiveling. I don't think there are too much forces on this rivet.

Working on tail light attachment plate
Time for epoxy and tapping
Nut plates are attached for fairings

Started to work on fairings and fairing attachments. The first two pictures above are where we add the tail light plate to fairing. Also tapped to screw the light when the time comes. In the third picture we add the nut plates to the assembly so we can attach fairings.

More nut plates
This part was not easy. Nut plates
Fairing attachment
More fiberglass work on fairings
Yeah, things do come together