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Advice .. Empennage Top Skin

bkervaski

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We're about to button up the empennage structure and are down to the Top Skin (10-32).

Looks like we can do a good job getting a lot of the rivets without crawling inside but that middle section is going to require someone in there to buck.

I've seen what folks do with the 10 by having someone lay inside and buck but was wondering what you guys are doing with the 14 since the skins are different. I'm a bit apprehensive about putting a body in there if I don't have to, may be inevitable.

Any advice or recommendations?
 
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I laid the tail on a moving blanket on the floor then put a trimmed piece of plywood on the longitudinal ribs (for elevetor bell crank). Then laid a blanket on that. I laid down and was able to knock them out damage free and im a big dude.
 
When doing the top skin of my tailcone, we were able to get all rivets without getting inside.

Simply placed the cone on a worktable at hip height and I reached with a strong arm and back. If I recall, for the aft most rivets, I simply reached through from the back of the tailcone.

Used a small piece of wood along the area near the fore most bulkhead for a small amount of support only on a couple of rivets in the most difficult positions.

Did have blankets in case the bar dropped.

Edit: Should mention, a fellow builder showed me that some duct tape on the bucking bar's sharp edges is a nice safety to minimize damage to the skin if you slip. No damage to these skins as far as I know using the above method.
 
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We installed the middle 28 rivets (as I recall) by putting the fuselages (we did two this way) on a blanket on the floor, then, we braced up a small piece of plywood to keep our weight on the skin and not on the longerons and bulkheads. A pillow to lean against inside and it was comfy cozy. Only took a few minutes to do, too. Just spread your weight on the skin and not the internals and you will be fine.
 
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I had the exact same trepidation regarding how to get a body in there without damaging any of the internal structure. Our solution was to suspend the tailcone, pointy end up from the ceiling of the shop and then stand up inside it. I can't take credit for this though. I posted almost the same question myself not long ago and someone here on the forum suggested this solution. It worked really well.
 
I had the exact same trepidation regarding how to get a body in there without damaging any of the internal structure. Our solution was to suspend the tailcone, pointy end up from the ceiling of the shop and then stand up inside it. I can't take credit for this though. I posted almost the same question myself not long ago and someone here on the forum suggested this solution. It worked really well.

This is exactly what we did on our first RV-10 years ago. It still works great. You may be able to stand the tailcone on saw horses and do the same thing.
 
I put it on the floor on several layers of padding, used more padding (moving blankets mainly) between the bulkheads to get enough bulk to then lay a "bridge" of blankets/padding across the bulkheads. I did the aft-most rivets first by reaching inside from the tailcone area, but it was easy to crawl inside and back-rivet the rest. I use this back-rivet bucking bar from Cleaveland:

http://www.cleavelandtool.com/Back-Riveting-Bucking-Bar/productinfo/BB46/#.WWntdhMrK9Q

FYI I'm 61 yrs old and by no means agile - still no problem and it didn't take long at all.
 
I put it on the floor on several layers of padding, used more padding (moving blankets mainly) between the bulkheads to get enough bulk to then lay a "bridge" of blankets/padding across the bulkheads. I did the aft-most rivets first by reaching inside from the tailcone area, but it was easy to crawl inside and back-rivet the rest. I use this back-rivet bucking bar from Cleaveland:

http://www.cleavelandtool.com/Back-Riveting-Bucking-Bar/productinfo/BB46/#.WWntdhMrK9Q

+1....You can count me for this approach
 
Add one vote for the moving blankets folded up inside between the formers and one person inside. Make sure that person had hearing protection on btw, it's loud in there!
 
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