This is the very start of our build! I think they have you start with the vertical stabilizer since it’s fairly simple and only has a handful of parts.
It involved a lot of preparation for riveting. First, we needed to do some match drilling and cleco a doubler plate to the front spar. Then we trimmed the spar flush with the doubler. Some of the rivet holes needed to be dimpled for the AN426AD3-3.5 rivets. The plans called for riveting the doubler onto the spar directly. However, after checking with Kevin, who is an awesome resource at Vans support, I decided I wanted to make sure any metal mating surfaces were primed before final assembly so that was done prior to riveting. I used AkzoNobel 463-12-8 epoxy primer.
Next, we needed to build the skeleton or “bones” to support the vertical stabilizer skin. This involved some final drilling of the spar and some brackets, and a doubler. I also cleco’d the parts to ensure a good fit.
All of the vertical stabilizer parts are ready for final riveting now, except I am waiting on a replacement skin. There was a small gouge on the leading edge of the skin I noticed when I did the inventory.
There was no apparent shipping damage so this must have happened at the factory. Anyway, Van’s is shipping a replacement skin at no charge. I will be able to wrap up the VS as soon as I get it.