27Nov2017


Costly mistakes.....

     So, I have had to re-order parts a few times now. The first was the rear spar for the vertical stabilizer and a rudder hinge bracket because I drilled the wrong hole too large. Now, I have had to order a new rear spar doubler and a new vertical stabilizer skin.

     As I stated before, I am new to a lot of these processes and as such have a bit of a learning curve. So, I delved in to the world of counter sinking the other day and it did not go as planned! The doubler plate for the rear spar on the vertical stabilizer requires several holes to be countersunk to allow for the dimpling of the spar itself. I new of the warning to start small and work your way toward the depth that you are looking for and I even tried to abide by that philosophy. However, when I did that, it didn't make any difference, so I kept adjusting the countersink, thinking that it just wasn't deep enough....... What I didn't realize is that the guide tip of the countersink bit was hitting the workbench and therefore not allowing the bit to make contact regardless of how I set the bit depth. So, when I moved the hole over the edge of the workbench, I failed to readjust the depth first and I ate through almost half the width of the metal, which was far too deep for the rivet head.

     I had considered filling that one hole with epoxy or even trying to make a filler washer out of aluminum and epoxy, but ultimately decided to replace the whole piece with a new one and doing it over. Better to be safe than sorry.

     The other mistake that I made was on the vertical stabilizer skin itself. The upper hole closest to the bend in the skin as it goes around the forward end of the skeleton is a real tight clearance when trying to use the squeezer. I had to try to actuate the squeezer about half way to be able to fit it in to the space. Unfortunately, I didn't line the male dimpler up with the hole correctly and punctured a hole in the skin along the edge of the existing hole. It wasn't close enough to cover with the rivet, so I bought a new vertical stabilizer skin to do it over. I have learned from these mistakes, however. I have learned that I cant try to cut corners and outsmart the build, and that I have to stop and re-examine why something is not working the way I had expected before proceeding.

What are you gonna do?! Now, on to the rest of the build! I am going to start work on the rudder itself until I get the parts in for the vertical stabilizer.