Brief Description: Riveting the Horizontal Stabilizer
Today I finished the horizontal stabilizer! It feels great to have the first piece done. I used my TATCO hand squeezer to rivet the rear spar assembly, HS-00006, HS-00005 and HS-706 to HS-801PP. I got most of the way around the top side of the HS and realized that I had missed 6 rivets on the top of the HS-702. At first I panicked thinking I was going to have to drill out a whole bunch of flush rivets but then realized that I could get to the six rivets by unclecoing the bottom side of the -801PP from the rear spar assembly on that side. I could then reach the bucking bar into the cavity and buck the rivets. It was a pain but it worked.
I also had to drill out the forward most -801PP to -706 rivet on the top right side. When I squeezed it with the hand squeezer it ended up raised. That rivet is really hard to get to with the squeezer. Thankfully I drilled it out with no issues and was able to get the angle right on the second go around.
I also riveted the HS-706 to the rear spar assembly. The one on the left side didn’t go very well with the squeezer and I ended up drilling the rivets out. I put them back in using the rivet gun and bucking bar and they ended up much better. I did squeeze the HS-00005 to rear spar rivets and realized that squeezing -4 rivets with the hand squeezer is hard work!
Finally I blind riveted the rear spar assembly to the HS-708 and the HS was finished!
