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That last rivet... empennage fairing

JDA_BTR

Well Known Member
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.
 
Thanks for this information. I'm about to do the empennage fairing so this is helpful. Always a new challenge...
 
So decided to install these nutplates "early" while in the build phase. I am thinking either a hot coat hanger wire pushed up from the inside or a coat hangar wire sharpened and in a drill will work for the holes in the fairing without damaging the nutplate threads. Will update when I get to that part of the build.
 
So decided to install these nutplates "early" while in the build phase. I am thinking either a hot coat hanger wire pushed up from the inside or a coat hangar wire sharpened and in a drill will work for the holes in the fairing without damaging the nutplate threads. Will update when I get to that part of the build.

I am considering doing to also for the 2 forward most nutplates on the aft fuse structure and also the ones on the top and side skins. The most forward on the aft structure I reckon I?ll just out the aft rivet in (the forward rivet also goes through the side skins), but the aft one on the c channel as well as the ones on the skins I think I?ll set both rivets. I figure you could just shine a light and put a sharpie dot then drill through that??

Interested in your thoughts.
 
There's no reason you can't use pop rivets on these. A little searching in the usual places will turn up 3/32 countersunk pop rivets.
 
Consider using a strap duplicator to blind drill those fairing holes. In retrospect, those nut plates could be put on during assembly. Way easier than shining a light.
 
Consider using a strap duplicator to blind drill those fairing holes. In retrospect, those nut plates could be put on during assembly. Way easier than shining a light.

Exactly what I did yesterday. The whole flashlight thing is really Rube Goldberg, as is drilling nutplate rivet holes without a proper nutplate jig.
 
Consider using a strap duplicator to blind drill those fairing holes. In retrospect, those nut plates could be put on during assembly. Way easier than shining a light.

Did it work ok on the curved portions of the emp fairing?
 
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