Finally back into the the swing of things. Completed the horizontal stabilator skeleton today.
Today, I fitted and riveted the counterbalance brackets to the forward and then the aft HS spar. I could not reach the rivets in the bracket that are in the middle of the web with my normal yoke. Luckily, I had another yoke for the squeezer with a deeper throat. With the new yoke installed, I was able to squeeze the remaining rivets.
Cut the tubing to make the four hinge stops, and then reassembled and riveted the HS spar box assembly to the HS forward and aft spar.
Attached the rib clips or angles to the aft HS spar that allow for attachment of the HS aft ribs. Then rounded the tips of the ribs as called out in the plans. What worked very well was using the Ryobi combination disc/1" belt sander as opposed to using a file. The 1" belt made fast work of the task. It is shown in the background of the picture of the HS skeleton sitting on the same bench with my scotchbrite wheel. Rounding the edge should ensure one does not see a bump/hump in the skin at the tip location.
Riveted all of the ribs to the forward and aft HS spars. Riveting took a bit of time because all of the rivets require the use of the close quarters wedge. All in all, a very good day.
Time - 6 hours
