My brother Bernie came over to complete the riveting of the fuselage below the F-718 main fuselage longeron. We started by riveting the remainder of the F-706 bulkhead. Then we riveted the F-722 and F-724 baggage area ribs on the right side, the F-623 rib on the right side, the left and right F-720 armrests and the left and right F-713 and F-717 longerons. We then installed the F-717 to lower engine mount bracket bolts. With that done we riveted on the left and right steps, see image 1. At that point all riveting below the F-718 main fuselage longeron was complete so we turned over the fuselage so it was right side up and carried out the lateral and longitudinal leveling. Once level we fabricated the F-710C and F-711E spacers from stock material and clamped them with the F-714 aft deck to the aft fuselage. The aft deck installation is crucial in making the fuselage straight, no twist, so we took a long time doing this using the digital level at numerous points along the fuselage to ensure straightness. Once the fuselage was straight and the clamps were tight we match drilled the F-714 aft deck to the F-718 longeron. Then we moved forward, clecoed in place the F-721B aft canopy decks, and fitted and match drilled the F-757-S plates to the F-705 bulkhead components. With that we called it a day.
Getting ready to rivet the step
Changing rivets sets in the rivet gun
With riveting completed the fuselage is turned upright
