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Larry Winger's 601XL Project
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Date: 9-4-2006
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Number of Hours: 1.50
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Rudder riveted and complete
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Clecoed everything back together for the last time and began riveting with my Harbor Freight Hydraulic Riveter. The first rivet set as planned, but the second rivet didn't pull the mandrel out completely, so I was left holding the riveter attached to the airplane with no cutting tools within reach. Through improvisation, I was able to prop up the riveter, get my diagonal cutters and cut the riveter free of the rudder. Not wanting to spend time diagnosing and fixing the problem, I just switched to the ZAC riveter. My reason for prefering the HF tool was that it had far less recoil than the supplied ZAC riveter. Within just a few pulls, I had mastered the technique for eliminating the negative effects of recoil so I was happy to be using the ZAC riveter. When all rivets were pulled except one -- the enlarged hole on rear rib #3 -- I put JB Weld in the hole and set the rivet. Remarkably, there is no visual evidence of any problem with this rivet at all. With the JB Weld fix I completed on the rib flange, and the JB Weld that is gooped inside the rivet area, I have no concerns about the strength or integrity of this rivet. All in all, I would judge this first assembly a success with plenty of good learnings in the process. I'm especially thankful for my online building friends, Debo Cox and Dave Clay, who talked me through the tough spots. I wouldn't want to tackle this without that kind of 24x7 help.
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One last look inside
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Joy standing in for her tall husband as I frame the shot.
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Amazing strong and it only weighs 5 lbs 6 oz. I'm actually building an airplane. This part will fly!
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