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ELEVATOR

The KIS Cruiser Kit, like many other homebuilt aircraft kits, can be started with the horizontal stabilizer and elevator kit. Often this portion of the kit can be purchased separately and used as a test kit to determine if you are really interested in, and have what it takes to build an airplane. It also provides an opportunity to see if you are going to feel comfortable with the construction techniques.

The elevator top and bottom are molded together with the stabilizer. They must be cut into separate pieces along scribe lines formed into the molded parts. The details of this process are outlined in the first part of the section on the Horizontal Stabilizer.

Separation & Preparation

Construction

Finished Unit

Curved Fairing

The elevator is prepared by mounting the top to a flat surface using bondo or 5-minute epoxy.
The elevator spar and ribs are prepared and bonded and glassed in place.

The basic spars for the trim tab are also put into place. (Those of you who have completed their elevators will notice a major mistake in the size and position of the trim tab on the this photo. I read the instructions wrong and the trim tab is much larger than it should be. I caught the mistake after I had closed out the elevator but before cutting the trim tab out. I went ahead and cut it to the correct size and made the subsequent repairs.)

This photo shows a slight modification I made to the instructions. I closed out the end of the counter weight before closing the elevator. This gave a very secure chamber for holding the counterweight lead. I then shaped the end of the counter weight with foam and glassed it over with two ply bid. Worked very well.

The above photos and left show the horizontal and vertical stabilizer both ready for closeout.

This photo, and the one on the right show the space in the prepreg and trailing edge of the elevator filled with epoxy-flox. I smoothed out epoxy-flox to form a uniform bede and closed out the elevator.

A lot of weight,(a bundle of shingles is very heavy) clecos, a few shims, clamps and a lot of patience and the elevator and horizontal stabilizer are close out. (Notice how neat, clean and uncluttered my workshop is. It may look bad, but it works OK.)

	The elevator is prepared by mounting the top to a flat surface using bondo or 5-minute epoxy. The elevator spar and ribs are prepared and bonded and glassed in place.
	The basic spars for the trim tab are also put into place. (Those of you who have completed their elevators will notice a major mistake in the size and position of the trim tab on the this photo. I read the instructions wrong and the trim tab is much larger than it should be. I caught the mistake after I had closed out the elevator but before cutting the trim tab out. I went ahead and cut it to the correct size and made the subsequent repairs.)
	This photo shows a slight modification I made to the instructions. I closed out the end of the counter weight before closing the elevator. This gave a very secure chamber for holding the counterweight lead. I then shaped the end of the counter weight with foam and glassed it over with two ply bid. Worked very well.

	The above photos and left show the horizontal and vertical stabilizer both ready for closeout.
This photo, and the one on the right show the space in the prepreg and trailing edge of the elevator filled with epoxy-flox. I smoothed out epoxy-flox to form a uniform bede and closed out the elevator.
	A lot of weight,(a bundle of shingles is very heavy) clecos, a few shims, clamps and a lot of patience and the elevator and horizontal stabilizer are close out. (Notice how neat, clean and uncluttered my workshop is. It may look bad, but it works OK.)