9/15/2003
8 hours: Put in a full day today, though I was hesitant to start drilling with my sub-optimal electric drill. I'm told the best speed for drilling aluminum is about 2x the speed of electric drills...that's what the air drill is for. Still no air for the air drill... Anyway, I temporarily assembled the front stabilizer spar to match-drill the holes where it will be riveted together.
That was easy, now the rear spar. Note the dog in supervisory position. While he was sleeping he let me cleco the hinge brackets on the wrong side of the spar...oops
After that it seemed logical to finish up by putting it together. Starting to look like an airplane part! All the parts are lining up really nicely and the resulting assembly (even though secured only temporarily) is straight, light, and strong.
Well, you can't see it very well, but you can sight all the way down the lightening holes without perceiving any misalignment. Very cool.
Tomorrow I might get some time to match-drill the ribs but that's about it until after vacation. See you next week.