Even more tailcone fairing fitting.....

Made this special nutplate jig so that I could properly locate the mounting holes on the curved surface of the skin.  This let me do it from the outside rather than trying to drill them from the inside out.

From here it was all off and on again iterations to fine tune the fit and the cutout clearances.  Go slow, remove a little at a time and reinstall...rinse and repeat for as many times as it takes.

I also block sanded the mold seam ridges from the parts as well as used a block to straighten all the edges I have cut.  Improved the consistency of the slot width and straightness of the slot sides.  Use a block at all times if possible.  It helps correct and prevent unevenness. 

Tailcone fairing again!

From this point on, everything I did was done while ensuring that the pushrod was centered in the slot by using cardboard to keep everything spaced properly.

I also made sure that the top of the fairing was properly spaced below the rudder.

I then used the extension marks from the tape as called out in the KAI's to mark the location for the mounting screw holes.  Before doing this, I made sure the front edge of the fairing parts were more or less aligned with the edge line that was drawn on the tape.

After that, I pulled everything as tight as I could and taped it with Gorilla tape,  Then I drilled and cleco'ed the fairing parts to the tailcone.

Same same on the bottom one.

Double checking the pushrod clearance and centering.

Then I worked my way around the cutouts marking for clearance to allow the stabilator full travel without hitting the fairing anywhere.  I also attempted even up the left side with the left side to make the cutouts more or less symetrical.

Double checking the rudder to fairing gap.

Tailcone fairing continued...

I used a handled laser etching machine to mark my data plate.  Turned out pretty good.  The bottom line is a tad crooked but it will have to do because I am not buying another one!

Make sure that your data plate matches your registration card exactly!  Word for word including any punctuation and case.  If they don't match perfectly, your DAR will likely not certify the airplane.

 

The original scribe lines leave the parts too long in the front.  I trimmed another 1/8" off them.

Also had to cut another 1/8" out of the clearance holes for the stabilator spar.

No pic but I also had to cut additional clearance for the rudder horn and the vertical stabilizer spar as well.