I decided that I'd better get the tail permanently mounted before the engine arrives, since without the weight of tail back there the engine will tip the airplane over. But before I can put it on for good, I need to take it off once more in order to finish up a few chores. Tonight I got as far as removing the vertical stabilizer.
I squeezed the remaining rivets on the rudder stops that were previously blocked by the VS spar. I also smoothed out a few scratches in the aft bulkhead that were a result of the initial stabilizer fitting. Looks like the primer dripped – doh.
I attached the nutplates for the fairing to the vertical stabilizer:
…and one to the fuselage just in front of the tail:
