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| Side note: this thing is HEAVY. That's probably for the best though – I don't want it moving on me halfway through a dimple. |
Since I can't do much more with the horizontal stabilizer until my replacement front spars arrive, I decided to move on to the next major assembly – the vertical stabilizer. If there's anything I've learned from all of my research, it's that keeping up the momentum is important when tackling long projects like an airplane kit. By working on a consistent schedule rather than on a whim, the project will be completed at a much more reasonable pace.
Compared to the HS, the VS is much more straightforward to work on. The VS spar doubler is already shaped to its final form (but will still need to be deburred later on) and the lightening holes that were optional on earlier kits were already cut out for me. It had a pretty significant bend from the factory which I had to straighten out by bending the opposite way over my knee, but that wasn't too difficult. The VS doubler and the rudder hinge brackets get clecoed to the VS spar and one of the lower hinge brackets has its holes match drilled to their final size. Simple, fun stuff.
Once that's done the next step is to "prepare the ribs", and that doesn't mean rubbing them with a good seasoning. Since the skin will be sitting tight against the ribs, all of the flanges of the ribs need to be deburred thoroughly to prevent any creases or cracks when the skin gets riveted on.
I found that the best method to do this was 1) a few passes with a file to remove large burrs, 2) a few more passes with the deburring handle flat on the edge and at an angle on either side for a more consistent edge, and 3) a couple of light passes with a red Scotchbrite pad for a smooth finish. The long, straight edges were easy to finish this way, but the smaller flanges were a bit more complicated. I could get a few burrs with the file, but a lot of the spaces were too small to fit the file into. I actually managed to use the Scotchbrite wheel on the bench grinder and some careful maneuvering of the rib to get most of the small flanges. Since the deburring handle has a swiveling reamer, I was able to use it and the red Scotchbrite pad in the tiniest spaces.
After deburring all of the ribs, the time finally came to put together the VS skeleton and then put on the skin. The ribs didn't quite line up with the holes in the skin at first, and I discovered that this was because the flanges on the ribs that connect to the front spar weren't bent quite enough to match the angle the front spar is at. A couple of quick adjustment to the flanges with the hand seamer and everything lined up almost perfectly.
At this point the skin could be completely clecoed on. Let me tell you, it felt really nice having the tail of my airplane standing on my workbench.
While the skin was on I match drilled all of the holes that connect the skin to the ribs and spars. This is where things start to get tedious. Cleco every other hole, ream, then move every cleco over one hole and ream the rest. Then, flip over the part and do the other side.
