Sunday, April 18, 2010

Putting Off Rudder Trailing Edge

So I'm almost to the point on the rudder where I'm going to be forced to start the messy ordeal of riveting the trailing edge. The trailing edge requires me to smear all the pieces that meet at the trailing edge with tank sealant. This is not a task I am looking forward to.

So, I reached a point today where I needed, and did not have a 7/64" reamer or drill bit. All that remains of the skin to skeleton riveting is four locations where I have decided to use a "pop rivet" (MK-319-BS) in lieu of the standard solid rivet. These locations just can't be reached with a squeezer or bucking bar for a variety of reasons and need to be pilot drilled to the larger 7/64".

I jumped online to the McMaster-Carr website and promptly ordered two 7/64" reamers. Due to the great service and convenient location (only 213 miles north of Indianapolis, in Chicago), those will be here tomorrow. Unfortunately, that means I'll probably need to start on the trailing edge tomorrow.

Picture of the nearly completed rudder...

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