I've put in two very full days of work on the covering and have made good progress . First the inspection rings were glued into the Vertical stabiliser (VS) and floor. These are first attached to the inside of the fabric and then a patch 1" greater in radius in glued over the top, also on the inside. Finally the centre section will be cut out and the removable panel installed.Next the right side of the VS was covered and the reinforcement tapes glued along the ribs ready for the rib stitching. The top of the fuselage was then covered. The tricky bit is getting the junction between the VS and the top skin. The top fabric was wrapped round the bottom tubes of the VS and into the VS itself. Then a finishing tape was applied to the outside to reinforce the joint.
Finally the left side was stuck in place. This has a cut out for the horizontal stabiliser spar carry through and for the rudder cable. Also it was glued to the plate for the static port. The picture of the right side of the fuselage shows the interior open for the last time until the right side skin is applied.
All of the fabric is shrunk with a domestic iron that has been calibrated at 250, 300, and 350F. The fabric is ironed twice or more at each temperature to slowly tighten it and remove any creases. The result is a smooth and taut surface ready for sealing and painting. The final picture shows the rather strange way in which rudder offset is created in the Wittman design to offset engine torque - this hadn't been obvious until the fabric was on. The VS main spar is perfectly upright and the top of the rudder is aligned exactly fore and aft, but the front spar is offset to the left at the bottom - you can see how it is out of line with the stringer which is centred. This creates the illusion that the whole VS is canted over which isn't the case.
