You can see that I have marked the final hinge openings but have not cut them out yet. I decided to dimple the skins first to keep as much metal around the cutouts as possible to prevent damaging the skins. The cutouts were completed next.

My wife, Leigh, was so excited to see me at the kitchen sink she grabbed the camera! Not really. She is a gourmet cook, so I am a gourmet dish washer. I would normally do this outside, but even Georgia gets cold in January.

I do like the look of shinny aluminum, but I prefer to scuff the surface to aide the adhesion of the primer. I use the Scotchbrite Ultra Fine pads to clean and scuff the surface. It leaves a ‘Satin’ finish which I presume gives the primer a better grip.

Next stop was the Metal Prep cleaning and Alodine wash followed by Zinc Cr primer on all the lay-up surfaces and rivet holes.

Now how did this go together? Always keep the plans sheet nearby before you start mashing those rivets.

Following the same methods I used for the ailerons, I riveted together the flap skeleton. The nose skin is next. This is where things get critical for keeping the flap square and flat.