Overview
The left and right elevators are airfoils that cause movement of the aircraft around the lateral axis. The left and right elevator are installed on the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer.
Elevator
Each elevator is made from the structural items that follow:
- Two spars
- 23 ribs
- 14 leading-edge formers
- A horn
- A fairing
- Three hinge fittings
- An upper skin
- A lower skin
- Three hinge upper skins
- Five leading-edge skin panels
- Three access panels
- Four inspection doors.
The front spar and trailing edge spar hold the ribs in their position.
The 23 ribs give the contour to the upper and lower skins to make the airfoil shape of the elevator. The upper and lower skins are made from aluminum sheets.
The leading-edge formers in front of the front spar give the shape of the leading-edge skin panels and make the skin panels stronger.
The horn is the outboard area of the elevator that is forward of the elevator front spar. A horn front spar and elevator front spar hold the three ribs of the horn in their position.
The horn has two doublers on the horn front spar where the leading-edge skin panel attaches. The leading-edge skin panel of the horn has a door and a doubler for strength. The door gives access to the balance weights.
There is a fairing on the outboard edge of the elevator. The fairing is made from a composite material and attaches with screws to the last outboard rib of the elevator.
Each elevator is attached to the horizontal stabilizer at three locations by the elevator hinge fittings (No.1, No. 2 and No. 3). The hinge fittings made from aluminum alloys are installed on the forward face of the elevator front spar.
Hinge fitting No. 1 is installed on the inboard end of each elevator. It has two attachment points for the PCUs and one attachment point for hinge No. 1. A bracket for the link of the elevator position sensor is installed on the front spar of each elevator. It is found on the inboard side of the hinge fitting No. 1 attachment point.
Each elevator has two 6 lb (2.70 Kg) balance weights which are attached on the front spar of the horn. Three static dischargers are attached to the trailing edge near the outboard end of each elevator.
There are three access panels (No.1, No. 2 and No. 3) for the hinge and actuator attachment points on the lower leading edge of the elevator. These panels give access to the hinge fittings, the PCUs and the attachment points of the link of the elevator position sensor. There are also three hinge upper skins that give access to the top of the hinge fittings.
There are four inspection doors on the bottom surface of the elevator for the inspection of the hinge fittings.
