Ivan's RV-7

Riveted the gussets and the left baggage floorTimer icon3h

July 20, 2023

Some riveting today.

First, I riveted both the F-695 fuselage gussets. I used the squeezer at first but then switched to the rivet gun and did the other gusset with the rivet gun alone.

The F-695 gussets are riveted. The same but on the other side.

Then I riveted the left baggage floor F-747 and the aft baggage side cover F-750. Since I did not drill the floor before priming, I had to match-drill the holes. To avoid accidental elongation of the holes, I cleaned most of the holes to #30 size without match-drilling them to the ribs (since the ribs don't stay in place without a cleco in the hole).

Also, the floor didn't quite fit, but I managed to fit it in place. The trick was to cleco the line of holes on the F-705 bulkhead, then cleco the rear part of the floor. This made the floor bulge (since it was a bit longer than the space available), but clecoing the middle holes put it in place.

Finally, I squeezed all the rivets for the nutplates.

The F-747-L baggage floor and the F-750-L panel are riveted.