154 hours VS work continues

Ribs, spars, rudder hinges and skin for the VS are match/final drilled, deburred, and almost all holes are dimpled except for the skin. I have to break out the soldering iron with the rounded tip again to trim away the vinyl covering that protects the metal from scratches. Then I'll need to rig up the C frame again to dimple the rivet holes in the skin.

Here is yours truly working the drill while I match drill the holes in the rear spar with everything clecoed together and clamped to the bench. Rule number one is always secure the work! I clamped the rear spar to the bench, and also clamped a small block of wood on the back side of the spar where each of the three sets of hinge brackets are located. I did this for several reasons: The hinge brackets are made of steel, and are therfore much harder to drill through.

I applied a lesson that I learned during the HS assembly where I tried to drill the hinges without having a solid backing flush against the hinge. The resulting holes were quite rough, and had to be deburred quite a bit. The compressed block of wood against the hinge bracket ensures that the drill bit maintains a consistent tension as it goes through each of the holes in the aluminum and the steel. The only trick was to use a size of wood that would cover the hole in the hinge bracket and slip in between the clecoes holding it in place. It worked well, and the holes in the rudder hinges came out much cleaner this time.