Joshua's RV-9A Project

Escaped to the shop after a full 8-hour day of editing CD’s and finished the riveting on the right side HS.  It really went smoothly after I got into the swing of it.  Only one problem rivet, the first skin-spar-rib rivet I tried to drive.  I drilled it out twice before I found a bucking bar & angle that did a decent job…which worked well for all the rest of the similar rivets.  My favorite bar for the rest of the riveting so far is actually the one where I ground a spot on the handle of a bar I had, when doing the practice project.  I’d love to try one of the tungsten bars, they sound like the ticket for small spaces like this…but alas, at over $100, it’s not on my list of “needs” just yet.  Happy to report no more dings in the skin.  Looking good!

I’m leaving the rear spar off for now, tomorrow I will have a go at the left assembly, and then it will be time to find a Tech Counselor who’ll drive out to take a peek.  The rear spar should go on in a jiffy after that, since it is practically 100% squeezable.  I may also prep the VS parts before I call for a TC visit, so they’ll be able to advise me if my deburring or whatever needs work, too.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 18th, 2007 at 10:12 pm and is filed under Horiz. Stabilizer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.