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Horizontal stab skin

S

SteveL

Active Member
Hello All!
I'm probably one of the newest kids on the block having started my Empennage Mar 27th. I'm getting ready to put the HS-601PP skin on the skeleton. I'm familiar with back riveting the top skin but what happens when you flip the skeleton over and no longer have access? Is there a 426 type blind rivet for this application? Thanks in advance!
SteveL
 
Steve

Congratulations on starting your 7a. Vans instructions are quite detailed in the early goings
of our projects starting with the emp. Occasionally leaving us hanging much later in the build :eek:
Trust Vans instruction manual. Riveting in sections, it is cramped in there but do-able for sure.
Regards
 
Congratulations

Congratulations Steve. You're in a great location. Lots of builders for advise.i seem to remember using a rivet gun and tunsten bucking bar on the other side then a squeezer on the rear spar skin rivets. Did you do the Service Bulletin?
 
There are only a couple rivets in the corners where you'll have to use a pop-rivet, you can get almost all of them with normal rivets, though you'll end up in some interesting positions sometimes to do it.

Wait till you get to the wings - believe it or not it is possible to drive every single skin rivet on the wings by yourself without any pop rivets, but it requires several beers and a couple band-aids.
 
I wasn't aware of a service bulletin but am on my way to Van's sight to educate myself. Thanks for the heads up.
SteveL
 
re h stab

please consider the horizontal stabilizer service bulletin in your construction - or maybe it's now included as part of new construction.
i carried it out on a nearly completely constructed but never completely finished h stab that i bought to replace my crappy one on my rv7a.
it was a bear and i would not have done it had i known the difficulty but if you are just beginning, carrying out the service bulletin with the skins off would be a great deal easier.
just wanted to prompt you to those considerations given the timing of your beginnings along with the service bulletin.
good luck

thanks to all, by the way, who sent comments about my dynon AOA question. i see some familiar names on this string

regards
jeff H
KWVI
 
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