Progress Continues On HS
I got the build back up to speed with where I had left off, which was clecoing the HS skeleton together in preparation for putting the skin on.
The plans call for drilling the rib and spar holes to #30 (except for HS-708 to HS-603PP, which get drilled to #21 later). I did NOT drill the two rear holes for HS-706 that mate to the rear spar, HS-603PP. These two holes are factory drilled at two different sizes, so it would be difficult to get them properly lined-up with clecos. Instead, I drilled these once the skin was attached. This ensured I’d have the best alignment possible. Worked great!
I completed all the necessary drilling on the LEFT horizontal stabilizer per plans. The most difficult part was getting the skin to wrap around the skeleton. Once you get the skeleton clecoed to one side of the skin, you can flip it over and carefully, but very firmly, pull the skin over the skeleton. I started clecoing in the center/front rib hole and work my way aft.
Left side done and ready for de-burring, dimpling, priming
One thing that I did need to come back and do was trim the the HS-702 front spars. This was a step that was called-out earlier, but since the plans show this cut with reference to a not-yet-drilled hole in the spar, I decided to wait until I got the skin on for reference. With the skin on, I marked with the hole was, then removed the skin and spar for trimming. I noted the measurement of the hole location as being 1.6″ from the edge, as shown below. This may vary for others depending on exactly where you previously trimmed this piece, so double-check to be certain, but it should be very close.
For reference only.
Up next, the right side!