Tailcone riveting done!

We've finished all the tailcone riveting that's prescribed in the manual! Just in time for the arrival of the wings (tomorrow).
Completed tailcone!
I riveted the aft deck to the longerons and bulkhead, then the F-1009 frame and the F-1011B stop/doubler to the aft deck:
Aft deck riveted in place
then bolted the attachment bar support angle and match-drilled the required holes into it:
Attachment bar support angle with hole match-drilled from the back
I installed and torqued all the aft deck bolts/nuts:
All bolts bolted - I mean, torqued
Next I dimpled the top aft skin, put the stiffeners back in place, and clecoed the skin back in place:
Stiffeners back in place
Skin back in place
Riveting the top skin is probably the most challenging portion of the tailcone, as it requires someone to get inside it:
Our airplane is now large enough to climb inside! (Wife holding the bucking bar inside the tailcone)
It's especially bad for the aftmost portion (close to the aft frame):
Wife inside the tailcone to buck the aft top skin rivets
I also installed the second avionics rail, which required me to fabricate some spacers from .125 aluminum in order to use the pop rivet tool:
Spacers for riveting avionics rail
Second avionics rail riveted in place
I installed the APU port:
APU port installed
APU port at the bottom (outside)
We riveted the avionics shelves and I bolted down the bellcrank/battery mount and the bellcrank itself:
Avionics shelves, battery/bellcrank mount and bellcrank installed
I also inserted the machined tiedown ring I got from Cleaveland:
Tail tie-down ring
The only things left now are the non-standard mods - I'm waiting for tank sealant to arrive so I can attach the static ports and NACA vents (there'll be some riveting there), then run the static tubes up front. The actual avionics wiring for the tailcone will be done much later, when I actually have the avionics, but I'll run the conduit soon. There's also the riveting of the forward top skin and forward frame, which is only done much later when the fuselage is attached.

Time lapse:



Total tailcone time: 218.8h
Total tailcone rivets: 1826

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