The mighty subaru overheated on the way to the shop... fortunately we were close enough to drop it off and continue with the day working on the plane. A new water pump and the Subaru is happy again.
We finished up the vertical stabilizer and began the rudder assembly. there was raw fabrication with the stiffeners and a shim for the spar that was neat. back riveting together was fun.
picked up a respirator put it to use... very nice.
I was a bit concerned about the potential for damage of the thin skins in removing the protective film; after reading about a method to peal it off with a wooden dowel on the internet we gave it a try and it works great!
my helper loves to back rivet!
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| my Missy helping to get ready for some back riveting on the rudder |
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| stiffener stock is from some light weight bent angle |
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| love this buffer with a couple of scotch brite wheels for deburring |
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| laying out the stiffeners |
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| Missy making dimples ;) |
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| parts on the wall! |
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| Missy dimpling away |
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| lots of stiffeners |
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| rudder stiffeners ready for priming |
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| easy way to remove the plastic coating on sheet aluminum |
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| shot for the man... I look awfully thin and tired and I need a haircut! |
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| ta da shot of one side of the rudder |
