Brief Description: Worked on RHS skin to straighten fuselage
These hours were 5.0 hours each on 11/11 and 4 hours each on 11/12/09.
On these two days the skin was removed from the right side of the rear fuselage. It was found that in that condition the RHS could be supported from the floor and raised a bit to level the TOP of the fuselage and also to put the top and bottom rudder hinges vertical. So a means to hold the RHS up while installing a new skin to hold it there was sought.
Two supports were cleco'd to the bottom along the rhs with adjustment to the ground. Using a level at the rear the top skin at the rear was leveled. The vertical "L" sections used as stiffners were riveted in place using small countersunk rivets. The new skin was fitted to the side and duct taped into position. It was necessary to trim a bit off the lower front corner to make it fit the new shape of the fuselage. It is now known that the basic cause of this problem was, for some unknown reason, the skin was angled just a tiny bit down at the front which at the rear kept the RHS lower than the LHS. Adjusting this angle with the new skin it fits within the longerons to an acceptable fit (within a mm everywhere.)
To use the existing holes in the longeron and stiffners, the plan is to use a hole finder where it will reach. When the skin is secured sufficiently, the bottom will be taken off and all the holes reverse drilled into the skin. Then the bottom will be replaced. The RHS skin will be removed for deburring and zinc treatment and then finally re-installed. Then and only then will anything be riveted.
