EMPENNAGE
"Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
--- Saint Francis of Assisi
When we started, everything was "a big deal." We spent more time thinking about what to do than actually doing. The advice above came in handy.
End
of Empennage Section.
February 2000: Dad and
Obie place the order for the tail (ours, not Obie's!) Obie, who is old
enough to buy a lotto ticket, is the only Siamese I know who likes to sit
on the work table while we drill aluminum!
March 2000: the tail
parts arrive, and taking inventory starts.
March 2000: preparing
the skins by dimpling the rivet holes.
The skins are clecoed on
for match-drilling the holes.
More fitting and
match-drilling..
Alodining the parts to
prepare them for priming.
Priming the parts.
All Vertical Stabilizer
parts are now primed.
July 2000: Uncle Ron
helps in dimpling the rudder skin.
Uncle Mike contributes
some rivets to the Vertical Stabilizer spar.
Back to the Horizontal
Stabilizer...primed parts are now riveted together.
The rivets are looking
good so far...it will be interesting to see if they differ towards the end
of the building process!!
The rudder and elevator
stiffeners are now cut and polished.
The elevator before more
match-drilling..
The elevators are ready
for final assembly..
We finished up the tail
section of the aircraft in November. We received the wing kit in January.
"I want my RV-7, RV-7, RV-7 - RIBS!"