Workshop & Tooling

After placing the order for the empennage kit, I begun by tidying the garage to make room for the build. I built a 3m x 3m shed to move a lot of the shelving and other items out of the garage.

I already had a good selection of tools, since I used to work on my own car. I bought an old table to use as my main work bench and started ordering various tools recommended by Sling aircraft, including:

• A decent air compressor - mine was a bit on the small side
• Air hoses and air tools such as an air drill, air spray gun and air riveter
• Clecoes and cleco pliers
• Deburring tools
• Drill bits
• Dimple tools - both handheld and a bench top one
• 120 degree countersink and microstop
• A benchtop drill press
• A rivnut puller
• Various other small bits

I also selected a wall to hang the various parts from as I did inventory. I also made the table bigger, expanding it to 2.4m x 1.2m.

Outside the garage, I build a spray booth where I'll be able to prime the parts as I build them. Since New Zealand is a very salty environment, I am priming all parts to help protect against corrosion.