PNEUMATIC SQUEEZER IS THE TOOL FOR THE JOB
I was able to get out for another hour tonight and get some more riveting done on the tailcone. I used my squeezer tonight for nearly all of the rivets I put in. The squeezer is a fantastic tool. In looking back, I can hardly believe that some builder kits online do not consider it mandatory for the build. There are a lot of tools I would give up before my squeezer.
BULKHEADS COMING BACK TOGETHER
It is exciting to see the bulkhead pieces getting riveted together. Even though most builders like to joke about building their plane at least twice (build, match drill, take apart, reassemble with rivets…) I do like the process. You almost get a practice run in a sense. Now, as I am riveting together the bulkhead pieces, I already have a solid vision of how they will align with each other and how I will mount them to the stringers.
Here is one of the aft-most bulkheads riveted together. Once again, I am pleased with deliberately marking the flange holes that were NOT to be dimpled. This has saved me a lot of anguish at this point in the process.
These two pieces were straightforward and easy. I enjoyed using the squeezer, setting some rivets, and making another hour of progress tonight.
Total time today – 1 hour
Total time empennage – 170 hours
Total time aircraft – 170 hours