I continued work on the tailcone over several short work sessions. A task here and there adds up.
I clecoed the baggage bulkhead into place and match drilled the bellcrank ribs to the bulkhead with a reamer.
Hannah helped remove vinyl from parts as I proceeded.
The baggage bulkhead channel was clecoed into place and match drilled with a reamer.
The bellcrank rib angle parts were separated using the band saw and finished on the disc sander. I final sized the nutplates attachment rivet holes, final sized the necessary 3/16″ holes, and countersunk the nut plate rivets holes on the top side.
I then clecoed these into place and match drilled the specified holes.
Next up was preparing the spacer for horizontal stabilizer attachment angle. I trimmed this to rough size on the band saw, shaped it on the disc sander, and marked it down the middle.
I then inserted the longerons into place. Everything aligned beautifully – the bends align with the skin breaks, the cutouts align with the elevator attach bars, and the longerons align with the front and rear bulkheads – very satisfying.
I then removed the vinyl from the inside of the aft deck and deburred it. I attached the spacer to the bulkhead with some VHB tape to hold it in place (I didn’t have any carpet tape as suggested in the plans).
The aft deck also aligned really well. I’ll clamp the longerons into place and start match drilling them in the next session.
