For the first part of the day, I started assembling the rear spar for the horizontal stabilizer.  Everything was going well today and then I noticed a note at the bottom of DWG #3.  It stated that the horizontal stabilizer rear spar should be trimmed below the HS-411PP in order to allow the elevator control horns to pivot forward and contact the elevator "down" control strop.  DAMN!!!  DID I MAKE A MISTAKE????  There was no mention of it in Van's instructions and you had to be looking very carefully at the print.  I haven't worked on the horizontal stabilizer for a while which contributed to this oversight(?).  Getting interrupted while waiting for parts I screwed up definitely did not help me.

In actuality, this turned out not to be that big of a deal.  If you look further into the instructions, Van's addresses removal of the rear spar flange material.  Additionally, I found builders that didn't remove this until fitting all of the pieces together at the end of the kit.  I did notice one builder who removed this material prior to rear spar assembly and he removed an excessive amount of the rear spar flange assembly.  Would that create a problem?  I don't want to remove any more material than is necessary.  So I got a little nervous, but it appears I am fine and not removing this spar flange is no big deal.

Since the rear spar was already primed and riveted together, the best thing I could think of is to wait and see how much needs to be trimmed and get out the Dremel Tool.  Drill the corners to get them rounded and use the Dremel cutting wheel to cut the straight lines.  Of course, it will still need deburring and touch-up primer work.  CRAP!!  Pay attention to the drawings!!!!

This evolution didn't go to badly.  When Van's instructions state that you may need to bend the HS-404 nose rib and the HS-405 main rib in order to set the rivets, they were kidding.  There was no way to set those rivets without gently bending those parts.  I used a vise grip clamp to ensure that the flanges stayed flat against the spar channel.  After I set the rivets, I gently bent back into place.  (I did see one builder who used an offset mushroom set with his rivet hammer and a bucking bar to set these rivets.  I bet that would have worked well, but for some reason, I didn't think of it at the time).

To continue with the assembly, Van's has you rivet the HS-707 nose rib to the skin, then install and cleco the front spar to the skin.  Blind rivets were used to connect the HS-708 main rib, HS-702 front spar, and the HS-707 nose rib.  I am hoping that no mistakes are made on the right side as Van's did not give me a single spare blind rivet.

Decided to stop for the night after getting the left skin done as we would not have enough time to complete the right side before my wife turns into a pumpkin (around 10-11pm).  That gives me a chance to get my construction log caught up...