SHORT ARMS = TAILCONE TEAM
I have been able to manage a large number of rivets on the tailcone so far. I have been able to combine any number of reaching and stretching techniques employed. But the reality is that this particular section requires an extra pair of hands. Bring on the tailcone team. Which I suppose is eerily similar to the horizontal stabilizer team. And the elevator team. I think you get the point. My wife was able to sit inside the tailcone with the bucking bar and did a fantastic job of setting all of the odd angle and impossible to reach rivets. We built up the area around the j-channels with cushions and strips of wood to protect them while she was “in residence”. It worked really well.
FINISHED PRODUCT
We were able to make fairly quick work of this and for the most part enjoyed it. At least I did. My wife however was trapped in a small space on a 90 degree day so I brought in a fan to help keep her cool. We developed a good communication rhythm of which rivet we were on, when pressure was applied, and when the riveting would begin. She would then check the shop head and we would move to the next rivet. Overall, a highly effective tailcone team effort.
- Total time today – 1 hour
- Total time empennage – 192.5 hours
- Total time aircraft – 200.5 hours