Almost the last rivet to set, and it is the most challenging in one way. The forward side nut plates on the fuselage for the empennage fairing have a rivet that is just aft of the fuselage skin overlapping it. No squeezer can get there. No flush rivet set can get over the whole top of the rivet so it will set crooked with that (trust me).
So I took that thin steel bar that screws to a table for making a tight space dimple and taped it over the rivet, flush against the edge of the overlapping forward skin.
With that on top I was able to gun the rivet from the outside with a bucking bar on the inside. Only cost me one layer of skin.
I suppose if you mounted all the empennage parts and did the fairing before it was assembled on the forward assembly and before the elevator tube went in, it would be a lot easier. With everything in place (and it almost has to be to fit the fairing), those side nutplates are a bear.
It was also hard to rivet all the other fairing nutplates in final assembly. It might have been worth it earlier to put the VS and HS on, drill everything out, and then take them off to set all the rivets; that would be a lot easier if I'd only known.
So I took that thin steel bar that screws to a table for making a tight space dimple and taped it over the rivet, flush against the edge of the overlapping forward skin.
With that on top I was able to gun the rivet from the outside with a bucking bar on the inside. Only cost me one layer of skin.
I suppose if you mounted all the empennage parts and did the fairing before it was assembled on the forward assembly and before the elevator tube went in, it would be a lot easier. With everything in place (and it almost has to be to fit the fairing), those side nutplates are a bear.
It was also hard to rivet all the other fairing nutplates in final assembly. It might have been worth it earlier to put the VS and HS on, drill everything out, and then take them off to set all the rivets; that would be a lot easier if I'd only known.