I've decided to prepare the holes for the cover plates and mount the nut plates before riveting the side skis. The plan says drill ALL the holes except around the forward bulkhead and longerons, so I figure these holes are included in "ALL".
The definition for this is on drawing 44 which we don't have but is in the manual. They get a #31 drill and #6 dimple. Then countersink the rivet holes slightly for NAS rivets.
I'll put the platenuts on after assembling the aft fuselage.
I also enlarged the hole to 5/8 inches for the tie down ring. The large hole is needed to clear the locking nut that goes on. My Cherokee has a skid in this location that also doubles for a tie down, so I think this tie down ring will also double as a tail skid in case of a tail strike.
