Fitting Alignment Pins Aligning the Canard Fitting Elevators & Torque Tube to Fuselage
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The canard alignment pin per plan is anchored in place and is not removable. According to Cozy Forum FAQ, this approach made it hard to remove the canard. It suggests an alternative approach that allows the pin to be removed as needed. Surprisingly, I was not able to find any pictures on this approach from any builder's sites. Regardless, I decided to take the removable bolt approach. Here's what I did...
I bought 8 feet of aluminum tubing with 3/8" OD from McMaster Carr (they did not have anything shorter) - it has the same diameter as its facing insert (CN-2) called out in the plans. I cut two 4" lengths of tube with my band saw. The tubing has a small ID (I was not able to find any with 3/8" OD and 3/16" ID), therefore, I have to ream out the ID to accommodate the AN-3 bolt diameter called out per plan.
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To determine the exact length of the tubing needed, I slipped an AN-3 bolt into the tubing from aft to forward. I slid the tubing and bolt combination forward until the head of the AN-3 bolt barely clears the side of the doublers. I marked and then cut off the tubing that protruded past the fore face of F-22. I left the tubing in place - will flox it in later. Meanwhile, I need to get a longer AN3-40 bolt from Aircraft Spruce. |
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[Hindsight] The bolt has to be pushed from back to front as shown because the nut plate will be buried inside the canard cover later on in Chapter 24 (picture below).
Here's a picture of the tube after I glassed it in place. |
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I used the longer bolt and nut instead of a floxed in alignment pin (per plan) . Once I remove the nut, I can pull back the bolt, and the canard can be removed by lifting upwards without obstruction. |
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Here's a picture after I floxed the nut plate in place. I made sure the canard is bolted in place first before floxing and curing in place. It turned out nicely... |
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Here's a picture after the nut plate is buried inside the canard cover in chapter 24. |
In
this chapter, we will fit the canard to the fuselage, aligning it so that it is
level, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage in plan view, and
with the airfoil at the correct angle of incidence. This chapter is divided into
three sections:
At
the center of the longeron doublers, I put a 3/8" hole straight through -
making sure the holes are parallel with the longitudinal axis of the fuselage
and horizontal as well. Due to the curvature of the longerons and doublers, the
drill bit will protrude out of the sides of the doublers. That's OK, because I
will eventually cover them up with glass. I slipped the 4" tubes through
the straight holes. 
With
the longer bolt, I have two choices - I can push the bolt through the alignment
hole from fore to aft OR from aft forward. They both worked - just personal
preference.
