This section was the grand section of them all! (So far). Joining the tailcone with fuselage.

This began by removing the tail feathers. I was able to do it in about 2 hours and stored the small parts under my bed and the Horizontal is in my living room against the wall.

After that I rearranged my garage so that the two pieces would line up. We used saw horses and a short table (the crate they sent me the kit in — now reinforced and with wheels) and some towels to get them to match. Wasn't very difficult really.

I had already prepped the bulkheads where they joined but I needed to add the nut plates and enlarge a hole with the stepper bit. Then it required a little fluting. This probably could have been easier if I realized how difficult it would be to pass each rivet through the hole that had, in some spots, 4 pieces of metal to join. However the clecos went in fine.

Man of the stringers and longerons could be done alone. But when it came time to get to the bottom skins and the ones aft of the bulkhead it required assistance. My mentor was in Colorado so my wife gratuitously gave me a hand and we knocked it out over the weekend.

After that I rearranged my garage again. Amazingly I was able to cut down using all 3 car spaces to just one now. I even folded up and put away two tables I had been using for a very long time. This was a very exciting section!

I got a little carried away and ended up re-organizing and labeling all my hardware. I got sick of searching for the bag number in the inventory list and then finding the hardware from the bag. I took each bag and placed the hardware with all the other hardware that was the same and labeled each drawer. It was actually very satisfying.

Time to start on the fuel system!