(page 09-08) More tail....                             

.....Always a good thing.  All the ribs for the stabilator lined up, within reason, when I trial fitted the skin.  I used my usual method of alignment -- sticking the awl into each rivet hole near the box spar and working my way out toward the leading or trailing edge, thus lining everything up.  All holes accepted clecos top and bottom.  I have mixed feelings about leaving the Blue Plastic Hell on before riveting.  With skin trial fitted, I discovered my one error -- I had countersunk one wrong hole in the box spar.  This, of course, meant that I had to un-cleco everything and fix it.  A minor problem.

With all of the uncertainties regarding the stabilator vanquished, I got to my favorite activity -- using the pneumatic rivet puller.  After about 50 rivets it quit working.  My favorite tool quit working!  Reading the instructions (for the first time) I noticed that I was supposed to periodically disassemble the nose piece and clean the jaws.  Apparently, each time it pulls a rivet it creates tiny chips which build up on the jaws.  Cleaned it all out, spent 35 minutes searching for a small spring that sprang out during disassembly, re-assembled, everything worked fine.  The tail cone is next, then on to the fuselage kit (still not inventoried and long past the 30-day window for having missing parts replaced free).