I built a fixture to hold the fuselage in the upright position. The fixture holds the position of both the forward and aft bulkheads so that the right hand skin can be fitted while ensuring that no twist can be induced. (Yes, I am starting to get the gumption back to continue the project after my setback) Once the fixture was built and the fuselage installed, I attempted to install the right hand skin (the one that causes the twist) to see how far off it was. It turns out that I can install all of the clecos fairly easily, except for the bottom row. I recall that when I fitted the final skin, I lifted the fuselage up onto my work bench to make it easier to drill the bottom row of holes. What must have happened is that when the fuselage was sitting on the bench, it must have been sitting on something that pulled a twist into it. The final row of rivet holes is very important....and word of warning to anyone getting ready to close out your fuselage....while it is stiff enough to remove from the original fixture to do the final skin....alignment of the fuselage cannot be completely ignored at this stage. You still must take care and check alignment before shooting the final holes. It still amazes me though, that I got that much twist in it.
Fuselage in Fixture and alined
Old RH skin installed to observe hole shift when properly alined
This is the shift in the bottom row. (Whit Plastic still on bottom skin)
