HS finished, starting on the Vertical stabilizer.

What a great feeling! The first major sub-assembly for this project is done. Took about 2 months, and I'm very happy with how things are progressing.

With the HS, I've gotten very comfortable with my rivet gun / bucking bar combo, as well as my pneumatic squeezer. I've learned that drilling out a bad rivet should be a non-event, and that not everything has to be absolutely perfect. Zen and the art of metalworking! On to the Vertical stab.

At this point, I've broken down the edges of all ribs & spars, and fluted the ribs. The rudder hinges have all been drilled, and the stiffener has been match-drilled to the rear spar. Time to cleco the skin and match-drill the entire assembly.

Ready to cleco--

--and ready to drill. As of this writing, all match-drilling has been done, and the VS is now disassembled. There are still a few tasks to perform; dimpling, countersinking, deburring, priming. Hopefully there will be updates this week, work schedule permitting  :)


Thanks for watching, seeya soon!