Aft Fuselage Assembly

Now it’s beginning to get interesting: putting some of the big assemblies together. I began by setting up three sawhorses so they were all at the same height and level.

I began the assembly by clecoing the F-779 Tailcone Skin to the F-711 and F-712 bulkheads as shown in drawing 26. I laid the F-778 Aft Bottom Skin across two of the sawhorses, with the outside surface down. I then reached underneath and clecoed the F-707 and F-708 bulkheads to the inside of the skin. I marked the outside face of the lower 4 J-channels with a lengthwise centerline. I slid the lower 4 J-channels into the slots in the bulkheads, leaving them loose.

I then slid the assembly to the edge of the sawhorses and clecoed the F-773 side skins to the bulkheads. I clecoed the F-706 bulkhead to the assembly and the F-729A bellcrank rib to the bottom skin. I then added the F-711/F-712/F-779 assembly and clecoed in the F-710 bulkhead.

Time: 6 hours