Sling Pilots Forum

The TSI version of this thread is very useful and I think a high wing version could be similarly helpful. As someone just starting their build, what I find won't be useful to those well ahead of me, but it might help someone later. Also, while this forum isn't exactly high traffic, having a thread to note problems and solutions might encourage others who are farther along to post items that will be useful to me.

• Empennage:
  • Horizontal stabilizer:
    • Page 1 of the November 2023 version of the KAI (Rev 1.5) lists two inventory items (3 & 4) for the elevator anti-balance hinge bracket that were not in the kit. These are no longer needed.
  • Vertical stabilizer:
    • Pages 18 and 19 of the November 2023 version of the KAI (Rev 1.5) provide dimpling instructions for the vertical stabilizer, including all but the bottom four holes in the flanges on the front spar, but not the front spar doubler angles or front spar inner doubler angles, creating an issue with the convex portion of those front spar dimples butting up against the flat surfaces of the doubler angles. Sling Technical advised to dimple all affected holes on the doubler angles.
    • Page 20 of the same KAI says to use 3.2x10mm countersunk rivets on the bottom four holes of the front spar, however these holes are not dimpled. After confirming the thickness is well within the gripping range, I used 3.2x8mm domed rivets, as I can always drill them out and dimple/countersink later.
    • Page 20 of the November 2023 KAI instructs us to install 8 rivnuts on the rear spar, skipping the bottom hole and going up to just barely above the row of holes for the bottom rib. Page 21 has us rivet the ribs in place, from back to front, however the uppermost rivnut blocks access to the outboard holes for Rib 1. There doesn't seem to be a way to install those rivets prior to installing the rivnuts, so solution is to install those two rivets in the opposite direction, from front to back. Depending on the type of rivet puller you're using, the rib itself may prevent getting a good pull from that direction. I'm using the RV-12 corner rivet puller drilled out to fit the mandrel of a 4mm rivet.