On the first weekend of the new year, my Dad helped me with riveting the bottom skins that were unfinished because they could not be reached in the previous session.
We gradually shift the Fuselage aft (to the left on this picture. The goal is to rivet the skin currently under the workbench on the right.
With every section riveted, we can shift the fuselage more towards the back (left). In the end it will only be on the extended table and the workbench will be available for work again.
According to the plans the fuselage should be upside down and you rivet down and buck up. I decided to do it the other way around, because I was not sure if I could roll the fuselage over without damaging it. Also it turns out riveting up is no problem.
Here we are shifting the Fuselage yet another few inches. I lift it at the Firewall and push it, while my Dad reorganizes the scaffolding beneath the Fuselage.
And we can rivet the next part and so on and so on. The extended table is clearly visible. It’s an old (70’s MAI Basic Four) computer table that I modified by clamping a 3 meter (10 feet) ladder on top of it (for strength) and covered it with MDF plates (for protection). I removed the original table feet and inserted wheels, so I can roll the table in any position.
Moving the last part, so we can rivet the stiffeners of the most forward floor plates. The wooden bar is there to support the ladder. It’s NOT pushing against the Fuselage directly. Turns out it was not necessary to place the bar, because the table was stable enough.
Time: 5 Hours, Rivets: 290/1 (2020-01-03)
Time: 4 Hours, Rivets: 0/0 (2020-01-05)
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