Nov. 5, 2001  3 hours

I started the night by getting all the pieces of the vertical stabilizer out and identifying how they would fit together according to the plans. 

I then clecoed all the hinge brackets and the 808 & 803 together. I then drilled all holes in this assembly (forgot to take a picture before disassembling)

Attached the skin to the 803 spar and drill all the holes in the skin and spar.  Here is the skin attached to the spar, all holes drilled.  

Then it was the file, deburr & finish operations. Again using the cordless drill with an ordinary wood extension to allow the de-burring bit to reach the inside of the spars.  I used the vixen file to "break" the edges of the 808 reinforcement plate with a follow up with the Scotch Brite wheel to finish.

I then dimpled the spar for the skin and the last few holes that will use flush rivets. 

I called it quits for the night around 9:15 with the intention of getting to bed on time.  I ended up spending another couple of hours on the web site trying to re-size the pictures that I had taken before purchasing the digital camera.  What a pain.

Nov 7 & 8, 2001  4 hours

I counter sunk the last few holes of the VS 808 plate as per the plans to accept the flush rivets.  I did this on the drill press to try to insure a perfectly round counter sink.

I fluted the ribs and made sure that the channels were square.

I then started assembling the frame.  I tried to skip ahead and assemble the complete skeleton so I could prime all the parts at once.  It really didn't work out.  It's hard for me to hold everything by myself and then align the piece you are trying to attach.  I decided that it would be much easier to rivet the rear spar and add the hinge brackets so I could mount it to the jig to hold everything in alignment.

On the eighth, I etched the spars and ribs and primed them.  It really works better for me if I allow the primer to dry overnight.  It's much harder and stands up to the "dinging" around while riveting the skeleton together.

Nov 9, 2001  4 hours

I riveted the rear spar assembly together to start the evening.  Here is the tongue of the spar with the flush rivets.    The rear spar assembled.   

I mounted the rear spar in the H-jig and assembled the front spar.     Then on to aligning the skin on the skeleton.    Enough for the night.  It's difficult to find a stopping point but I decided to wait till another night to drill the skin to the ribs.