I’m back from travel, and (hopefully) over a very busy time at work.

With the F-793C/D spacers fitted and drilled, I fabricated the heavy F-793B angles per plans – with the exception that I didn’t pre-drill the holes that Vans calls out in the plans. The pre-drilled hole in the top of the -793B won’t line up with the hole in the skin and aux longeron (see the pics below), so once again it’s much better simply to clamp in place and match-drill. Sorry, I don’t have any pics of the clamping procedure. Here’s the end product…

So here’s where I might have screwed up a little…I went ahead and drilled the assembly for both holes which attach the F-793A tank support angle. I made the mistake of looking at other builders’ websites, both of whom did this, and didn’t notice in the plans where Vans recommends that the -793As not be drilled until the wings are fitted. That’s a shame, because I came up with a neat little drill jig which let me drill the holes much more easily…

Anyway, it’s done…and based on what I’ve seen from other projects, I expect that the fit of the tank attach brackets will be fine once the wings are installed. If not, I have a few tricks up my sleeve if I need to fix things.