Tailwheel Bracket

I've been fussing with this long enough! It seems like on all the builders logs I look at, everyone just fits this bracket, drills some holes, and is off and running.

As usual, I can't seem to make my part fit. I'm trying to fit the tailwheel bracket between the last two bulkheads. Here's a pic from the top where the two bulkhead are tight up against the bracket...



Now, look at the alinement of the holes in the bottom skin and the bulkhead (NOTE: for this pic I slide the bulkhead to the side so you can see the holes in the skin.)



There's about a 1/8" difference in the holes in the bulkhead and the holes in the skin. I can't move the bulkhead back anymore because it is flush up against the tailwheel bracket.

The most frustrating part of this is that I'm assuming the skin, the bulkhead, and the bracket are made in a jig at Vans. So everyone's should be the same right? Why on Earth does mine not fit then?? The bracket seems to be too long to fit between the bulkheads.

I'm out of ideas. Has anyone else had this issue? I'm looking for ideas!

Thanks

We're at almost the same point in our builds, I might be a couple of weeks ahead of you right now. I have my J-stiffeners drilled and am working on the center section now.

Nothing back there fits like you'd like it to. Cleco the bulkheads to the tail skin, in fact if I were doing it again I'd just wait until I had the whole aft section clecoed together to even try getting it fitted. I got the tail skin and F-712 "mouse hole" cut, but didn't drill or rivet the weldment in. I found that if I clecoed the bulkheads in place with the weldment in there loosely, then slid it into its final position it worked OK. This is one of those rare times when I put clecos in every hole, by the way.

Now cleco the aft section together and level/un-twist it with plumb bobs and wedges. Then fit the weldment in there, get it centered as well as you can and drill your holes. I found it helpful to slide the spring and tailwheel fork in there to "eyeball" it and make sure it is straight and not canted one way or the other. My weldment is a little loose fore/aft and I'll need to shim between F-711 and the weldment.

I completed mine earlier this year, as I recall I clecoed all the skins in place. It's a fight and took a lot of time to get perfect. I had to roll, bend and reshape the lower 773 skin as it just wasn't near where it needed to be out of the box...

I'd be surprised to hear that anyone's just fell into place. Everyone I have mentioned it to agreed its a wrestling match...