Brief Description: Fitting the Vertical Stabilizer
It was very difficult to rivet the rear bulkhead in-place (picture 1). My rivet squeezer has a 4-inch jaw and I could only use it to rivet about 34 of the 46 rivets that hold the rear bulkhead in-place. For the rest of the rivets, I attemped to use my rivet gun and various bucking bars. It was nearly impossible to get the bucking-bar in position for most of the remaining rivets. After several very frustrating hours, two nasty dents in the fuselage skin which will require some bondo-filler before painting, and numerous cuts and bruises on my arms; I finally used 5 pop-rivets. I may also use pop-rivets for the remaining 8 rivets in the rudder stops. I didn't fabricate the rudder stops because numerous people have told me Van's plans are incorrect and to wait to fabricate these when I get the rudder installed on the vertical stabilizer. The 2nd picture shows how the front spar attach fits onto the joining angle piece and the 3rd picture shows the vertical stabilizer temporarily in-place.
