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Progress was slow for awhile due too much time on the road, but I finally am making headway again. In Canada, we have to get an official inspection done prior to closing any major components. These inspections cost a fair bit of money, so I elected to get the tail and wings done at the same time. I finally finished all the details and had the big inspection done on 24 November 1999. The inspector, Dale Lamport, was quite thorough, but he gave it all a clean bill of health at the end, except for one rivet that he wanted me to redo.

So, I can now rivet the lower wing skins on. I started the right wing today. The most inboard part was a real pain to do because there are four ribs in nine inches to support the area where the wing walk is. You have to get one arm in through the lightening holes and between the ribs to get a bucking bar on each rivet. My right arm will be sore for days, but I managed to get all the rivets OK.

Here you see me working in the middle of the right wing, with my left arm stuck into the wing through an access cover, holding a bucking bar. The rivet gun has a paper towel "diaper" duct taped to it to keep it from spitting oil onto my work. It sure is nice to be getting to the end of these wings :-)