Installed left tank baffle

March 29, 2011 – After a little bit of clean-up work on both tanks, I decided to bite the bullet and close the left tank. I mixed up the sealant and put a bead along the rivet lines and the aft edges of the ribs, then I put the baffle in place and clecoed it to death.

I installed the upper and lower pop rivets in each rib, then I sealed and clecoed the z-angles in place, making sure they were oriented correctly. The pop rivets were installed wet, by dipping them in the sealant.

To install these I had to modify my trusty pop riveter that I bought when I started my airline career 23 years ago. Kinda hated to do it.

Just for good measure, I cap-sealed the pop-rivets.

Then I used a squeezer to install all the upper and lower skin rivets and the -4 button-head rivets on the upper and lower ends of the inboard and outboard ribs. I still need to install the z-angles on those ribs.

Time: 4:20