I continued work on the elevators, pre-assembling the right one first. Most holes were already match drilled on the structure but I found a couple that weren’t so I’m glad I double checked everything. I started on the top skin and match drilled everything, clecoing along the way. On the spar, you are to start mid span and work out, clecoing every hole. By the time I was done, I had use a lot of clecos! I’ll definitely need more for the wings coming up. I flipped the unit over and finished the bottom skin as well. Next step is to disassemble, deburr, and dimple the skins. I’ll need to get my dimpler table set up this weekend.

Tonight was the first night I actually got to put my hands on the kit. Having brought it home several weeks ago and inventorying it, I spent tonight reading up on the already completed sections just to understand what’s been done already. The previous owners have completed the horizontal and vertical stabilizers along with some work on the elevators. I verified each step in section 9 as I went along and created a check mark system to maintain accountability on completing each step.

The kit has sat for a long time in storage so it was pretty dusty. I used Simple Green aircraft cleaner to get all the dust and dirt off and was pleased that all the parts are cleaning up nicely. I had a couple of spots that had scratches with a bit of grime. Not sure if it was a precursor to corrosion, I buffed them out and will use a bit of spray can primer on the sections for extra peace of mind.


I picked up on laying out the components for the elevators. I demurred all previously drilled holes and followed the plans to get the spar and ribs laid out on the bottom skins. One skin is already dimpled, but the need for a dimpling table has arose quickly. I have the materials and will get that built tomorrow evening for this weekend’s work.