Attaching Fairing to Tail Cone

In the morning I started the task I had dreaded yesterday. Installing the stabilator yet again. I got lucky, I have to say, as the washers stayed in place this time. And I didn't have to install the counterweight nor did I have to tighten the bolts of the stabilator.


To install the fairing one has to disassemble it again. So off came the screws.


In order to hold the fairing in position you could use tape but then how would you see where you have to drill later? I chose to give it some support from below.


I slid the upper half over and attached it with the screws again.


A little bit of easy to remove blue tape held positioned the fairing assembly but how in the world was I supposed to see where to drill??? The markings didn't show through the fiberglass at all.


What I could see was part of the line outside of the fiberglass and I could see the edge of the sheet metal through the fiberglass. That was enough reconstruct the drill markings on the outside of the fairing.


It sure was a bit more effort on the lower half but mostly because it was an awkward angle to work at.


The upper holes in the lower half needed some help as the spar was resting on the lower half. I could mark the interference and remove it but only by removing the fairing and reinstalling it afterwards. I didn't want to do this if there was another way - and there was. I could tip the stabilator with one hand and remove the pressure on the fairing, allowing me to drill the upper holes without any distortions in the fiberglass. A little support structure took care of that, so I had both hands for drilling. Everything worked out fine.


I match-drilled the holes with a #27 bit and removed the stabilator and the fairing halves. When I removed the tapes I could see that I really wasn't that much off when recreating the drill pattern.


I cleaned and deburred the holes and then removed the material that still had interference with the spar or the skins. I also drilled the hole in the belly of the fairing to allow for the trim motor arm to penetrate it.


I would have continued to install the nutplates at this point if I had had an extended #40 drill bit. This is required in this step and I honestly don't see a away how to do this without one. Unfortunately, this was not part of the Avery tool kit and I had to order one.
I assume section 12 will just have to wait until the bit gets here some time next week.
In the meanwhile I might pick up on the installation of the electrical wing connectors. There's not much else to do while waiting for the engine. I might also trim the cowling if I need to burn some more time.