29 Nov 2022 - 1.5 hours
These front spar reinforcement angles need to get the same 6° bend that the front spars received.
I carefully measured where the bend should go, then carefully measured where the bend should go using the proper measurement, and finally bent the ends using the same wood-block-and-clamp method as the spars.
It took some work but I got them to the same angle. Here they are clamped together:
The center of the front spar is where the vertical stabilizer will mount. It needs to sit flush so the center rivets need a dimple. The reinforcement angle is much too thick to dimple so they received a countersink. I also match drilled some, but not all, of the holes on the HS-00001 doubler plates.
Finally, I trimmed the rear flange of the HS-00006 nose ribs. Material needed to be removed to allow the front spar reinforcement angles to pass underneath the rib. I used a cutoff disc in an angle grinder for this cut and it was incredibly easy and fairly precise! Final shaping was done with files.
