It's Full Size

Finally putting the skins, nose ribs and front spar together. It's so exciting to have something that looks like it belongs on an airplane.

So it turns out that 28 inch pounds is not a whole lot of torque. I was using my new torque wrench to get the correct torque on the elevator attach bracket and I managed to snap the head off a bolt completely. The correct torque value for an AN3 bolt with a MS21042 nut is 28 inlb. That's not very much. It was so little that I didn't even notice the wrench clicking. I'm not really a fan of those nuts. Since they're self-locking they create a ton of drag on the bolt and you need almost that much torque just to get it to thread. Not the worst mistake and Aircraft Spruce was able to get a whole bag of nuts and bolts to me in a few days. 

Put the final touches on the rudder today. Everything went smoothly and the Trailing Edge tape was no big deal. Pop riveting the two halves was really a lot of fun. Rolling the leading edges was probably my least favorite task. Just too much vagueness in the pipe rolling and the templates from the plans. I prefer things that go together perfectly with no ambiguity. Leading edges like this seem like the intention is to get a nice even curve not something specific. The one replacement stiffener is primed with spray can primer so it stands out. Super convenient for places that won't show but aren't enough to pull out the Akzo setup.  The instructions say to use a Helper, but tape and a C-Frame work great and don't get tired.  Putting these halves together was the most fun I've had building yet.  Looks straight to me. Still a 2x4 with dive weights for a couple days makes sure it sticks before riveting.  ...

I had a helper today with putting together my new lectern for the shop. I was constantly looking for places to lay the plans out and always running back and forth to consult them. This has already turned out to be a super useful tool for holding the plans. With wheels I can move it to wherever I am in the shop. The top shelf is also just the right height to look at while standing or while sitting on the wheeled stool I use when working low on the tables. The lower shelf is also perfect for holding rivets and tools. Inexpensive, easy-to-assemble, and super useful around the shop. 

Sebastian helped start prepping the parts for the horizontal stabilizer. We removed all of the blue plastic and relabled with blue Sharpie. Plenty of skin was also labeled.

Started using the super sticky 3M VHB tape on the rudder trailing edge. This tape is $30 for 5 yards so I'm using a single length to cover both sides. The 1" wide tape mostly covers both sides. I started with it on the right skin clecoed in place. Then I weighted it down with soft dive weights that I have plenty of. These are basically heavy bean bags filled with lead shot and seem perfect for applying even pressure on the trailing edge to get a good stick out of the tape.