I didn’t get a lot of time in the shop, but I was able to get some outstanding tasks completed.  I dimpled the remainder of the left skin and drilled the holes for the flop tubes.

I bought some tools for tube work.  The springs allow you to bend tubing by hand.  The Roto flaring tool (red handle) allows you to flare tips to the required 37degrees, and finally the blue handle Imperial 470 can do perfect bends of up to 180 degrees.  I will use these for the fuel vent. 

Here is the flop tube….

There’s one problem.  That one rivet hole under the elbow.  Its just barely outside the minimum distance required.  But….

Here’s where its a problem.  I won’t be able to tighten the nut all the way down.  I will have to countersink this rivet and install a 426 flush rivet instead.  

Tonight I got a lot of drudgery completed. I deburred all the holes and edges of both fuel tank skins. After that I removed the remaining vinyl from the rivet lines with the soldering iron. Next, I scored the mating surfaces for the sealant application on the inside of both skins. Finally, I dimpled the entire skin for the right fuel tank.

Tonight I took care of several odds and ends on the fuel tanks. I drilled the access plates, reinforcement rings and ribs, countersunk the fuel caps and started the fuel vent planning. Finally I set up the shop for riveting and deburring. I forgot to post the same evening, and as a result I know I am forgetting some of the things that I did.