Ok, so I’m totally jumping around in the build as I circle back to things I skipped due to weather and mental fatigue. Regardless, please forgive the fairly random order as I try to finish up the last few items before I focus on the fuselage.
With both ailerons completed, and one flap done, I needed to go back and install the gap fairings. This is a very straightforward install and the only newsworthy item to report is yet another new tool I ended up getting. Due to a post on VAF as well as a a sale on one of the major tool vendors, I ended up picking up a hydraulic-pneumatic squeezer by Numatx. This is a foot operated squeezer that uses hydraulic oil to actuate the squeezer. Benefits are the squeezer head is so much lighter and smaller, and you don’t have to adjust the RAM for each rivet length.
In practice, I find I do spend more time than I expected adjusting the ram / squeezer dies on the Numatx , however I really do like the operation of the unit.
Back to the gap fairings, I primed them and dimpled the #40 holes. I then dimpled the top wing skins using the Numatx squeezer. Next I install the gap fairing, and using the Numatx squeezer start to install the rivets in the skins. Next I cleco the gap fairing to the spar and change the dies and air pressure into the Numatx squeezer so I can set the AN470 3-x rivets. All goes together very quickly. Off camera I also finish up the other GAP fairings for the flaps and aileron on the other wing.