Torque Tube Fitting and Fuselage Repair

The fuselage was basically an easy repair once I figured out the geometry.   Since the torque tube now hangs lower I had to figure a way to allow the canard to slide in and down at the same time.  This picture shows how much of a gap between the fuselage and canard when first put in place.   The difficulty was ensuring I could install and remove the cover easily because the canard has to fit on the alignment pins and move down (due to the curve in the front) during the last 1" of movement when installing.

I first estimated the position of the TT on the fuselage.

The side has been plugged.  Notice how I have cut the fuselage at a slight angle and splits the side penetration hole at the bottom and top.  The angle cut is to allow the canard to slide back and down in the last 1/2" of installation.  Splitting the hole allows you to have some structural strength for the glass work supporting the area around the hole.

This is a better view of the result.  By splitting the hole I could have more build up of material on the bottom part of the hole instead of canard cover coming to a sharp point a the hole.

Here is where you see what I mean by a sharp point.  I felt it would be a weak point, so I changed it to go slightly below the hole for added strength and a better fit.

Here you can see the result.   Notice the hole is split vertically.

Drill and insert a small bearing in both supports to which the offset TT are attached.   You will use a bolt for support of the offset TT's (which you bottom out to lock it in) to for the hinge rotation points.

Second bearing in the CS-3 support.  A bolt is used and I just put some locktite on it and tightened it until the threads bottomed out.

Nice picture of the Parkerized metal preserved and then powder coated TT.

Pictures of the finished results.  The canard goes on very easily and there is no air leaks around the TT.  I sanded the interface so the gap around the TT is basically the thickness of sandpaper.  Now when you remove the canard, the will move vertically about 1/2" and start sliding forward and as soon as the forward lip clears the fuselage, it easily slides out.

Looks good to me!