§ Rudder Modification (Optional)
T-45 Goshawk Composite
23
R
R
u
u
d
d
d
d
e
e
r
r
M
M
o
o
d
d
i
i
f
f
i
i
c
c
a
a
t
t
i
i
o
o
n
n
(
(
O
O
p
p
t
t
i
i
o
o
n
n
a
a
l
l
)
)
Separate Rudder from Fuselage
Required Parts
o
o
o
o
Fuselage [F]
Required Tools and Adhesives
®
®
®
®
Sharp Hobby Knife, Hobby Saw or Small
Rotary Cutter
®
®
®
®
Sandpaper
}}}}
Separate the rudder from the fuselage at the
molded locations. You can do this using a sharp
hobby knife a hobby saw or a rotary cutter with
a thin cutoff wheel. Don’t be afraid to create a
small gap at the cut since you will need a little
bit of clearance for the rudder motion.
Separate rudder from vertical stabilizer (shown
here with rudder option wooden elements [F2])
}}}}
Once you have completely separated the rudder
sand all the edges smooth, both on the rudder
as well as on the vertical stabilizer. Now is a
good time to check for clearances, you want to
have a small gap both at the top and at the
bottom of the rudder to avoid binding.
Reinforce Rudder
Required Parts
o
o
o
o
Rudder [F]
o
o
o
o
Rudder option wooden elements [F2]
Required Tools and Adhesives
®
®
®
®
Sharp Hobby Knife, Hobby Saw
®
®
®
®
Sandpaper
®
®
®
®
12 Minute Epoxy Adhesive
®
®
®
®
Thin CA Adhesive
®
®
®
®
Thick CA Adhesive
}}}}
Now that the rudder has been separated from
the fuselage reinforce it with the provided wood
elements. The provided wood elements are
composed of two long, tapered, flat pieces; a
long, tapered, thicker, five sided piece and an
assortment of flat triangular pieces.
Bond reinforcement pieces to rudder
}}}}
The first step in reinforcing the rudder will be to
install the longer five sided piece as shown in
the pictures below. The flat bottom goes to the
inside of the rudder, the thinner end of the
taper goes to the top of the rudder and the two
beveled edges go to where the rudder will mate
with the horizontal stabilizer.
}}}}
Bond the piece (spine) into the rudder using
Epoxy adhesive. Make sure that the wood edges
are aligned with the fiberglass edges.