February 6, 2019

Match drilling elevator counterbalance ribs and skins

Each counterbalance is composed of two ribs, a counterweight, and a counterbalance skin. The ribs get clecoed together and match drilled first, then the counterweights are nestled into place in each skin. The skin with integrated counterweight then gets stretched over the rib assembly and clecoed into place for drilling.

Just like the rudder counterbalance skin, the skin for each elevator counterbalance takes some coaxing to get into place. It's a tight fit with the counterweight in the way. There will be bolts installed to hold the counterweights in place, but the super tight fit almost makes them seem unnecessary. Alternating between clecoing each side as you work your way up the ribs is a good way to approach this task without too much headache.