Long session in the shop today, but it should be a fairly short post. My buddy Jack came over to help me with the riveting of the turtledeck to the fuselage. I was crammed inside on the bucking bar while Jack had the rivet gun. It was slow going at times, and might uncomfortable, but we got it done. The rivets came out ok. There are a few areas where the intersections look a little wavy, but its only cosmetic and can be easily fixed when I go to paint.

Here’s a picture inside looking up a the completed rear shoulder harness attachment points.  

We also installed three clips for holding the tubing from the static ports.

Here’s the completed turtledeck. The legs belong to Jack.   

Next I turned my attention back to the passage of the rudder cable through the center section of the fuselage where the spars are inserted. Unfortunately, there is not enough room to drill the hole from the aft position. I will need to drill both coming from the front side.

I don’t have a 5/8 inch bit, so I’ll have to return to this when I get one.   

John Raffensparger had a good idea for my tail inserts. Drill a few holes in them to act as handles for putting them in. I also trimmed a couple corners again to make removal and insertion easier.

I match drilled the rear battery tray. After doing some research, and crunching some numbers, I’ve decided to put my battery in the back. With an IO-360, constant speed prop, and a pilot who only weighs 135lbs, a little more weight in the tail will be a welcome addition.   

Quick priming job for the battery tray. There are some nut plates that go on the aft side of the tray, and I cannot for the life of me determine what their purpose is.

I received my resupply from Aircraft Spruce. I was tired of being a few rivets shy on things, so anything that looked like it needed a top up, got a minimum order. Even if I have tons left over, thats okay, as I know I’ll find uses for them over the years. 

I also purchased some ignition open end wrenches, flexible socket extensions, and dremel sanding bits from Amazon. The open end wrenches have one side that is offset almost 90 degrees and will be perfect for a few tight spaces.

Session time: 8.0 hours