Half way through riveting on the rear spar of my horizontal stabilizer, it hit me. I had forgotten to drill out and replace one of the blind rivets for the middle main rib and front spar connection. I even had it written down on my "to do" list! I didn't get one of the three blind rivets seated well against the rib flange/spar when it popped, so there was a small gap under the head, which according to the manual fits under the "replace" category. I had to get more rivets, so couldn't do it right away and wrote it down in the plans so I wouldn't forget. Then I forgot.
So my options are to drill out a bunch of rivets to remove the rear spar and take it all apart so I can access that one rivet again, or just leave it since it's unlikely one blind rivet that isn't seated is going to break anything given the number of other rivets holding that main rib in place to the two spars and skin. I will disassemble the rear spar if necessary, but I'm afraid I'll damage more than help. Forge ahead or drill out a ton of rivets to get access?
So my options are to drill out a bunch of rivets to remove the rear spar and take it all apart so I can access that one rivet again, or just leave it since it's unlikely one blind rivet that isn't seated is going to break anything given the number of other rivets holding that main rib in place to the two spars and skin. I will disassemble the rear spar if necessary, but I'm afraid I'll damage more than help. Forge ahead or drill out a ton of rivets to get access?
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