DATE: 10-10-2024 TIME: 1:30
PAGE 8-5,6
I continued today with the final assembly of the horizontal stabilizer and that with the front spar. If you recall I had made a second set of HS-1008 Left and Right brackets which I was much happier with than the first pair. I marked everything before priming the parts to make sure that they went back in place as they had been final drilled.
What I have found so far is that, even with the matched hole and final sized drilling done at Vans it is a good idea to run a drill bit through the holes for which “final sizing” is called as sometimes they don’t seem to be an easy fit. Not sure if that is the primer, or alignment, but I’m guessing it’s an alignment issue as the clecos don’t hold precisely the way a rivet does.
I began by double checking the machine countersinking depth and then completed the riveting of the HS-1007 spar doubler, HS-1013 spar caps and the Left and Right HS-1008 brackets. I note again that it is very important to make sure the spar caps are a tight fit against the flange and the web of the front spar, in this case the HS-1002. As I do quite a bit of work on my own I do a lot of double checking and using clamps.
I ended up using the rivet squeezer to try and get a more consistent look on the rivets but overall I was pleased with the turnout and it did not take too long.
Having already prepped and primed all of the horizontal stabilizer I was ready to get on with the remaining assembly.
