It's not difficult to see that fast, high quality work comes from repetition. The second time building this elevator (once I devote time to it and gather a bit of momentum), is easy as pie and superior in every way to the first. The trailing edge ribs and trim tab closing spar are all sanded, fitted and glued. It's looking straighter this time around.
What I really need to do is build two Falcos, and just throw the first one away.
The float sanding of the stabilizer continues at a snail's pace. The spar is a thick, tapering chunk of wood, and it has to have a good millimeter shaved off the aft span. I don't want to even think about sanding the wing. In the monotony of pushing that board back and forth, I fantasize that a CNC milling bit could make successive passes over the surface, perfectly bevelling the spar to match the chord profile. I can only try to hold my own, hand-hewn dimensions to that imaginary accuracy. It makes me wonder how thousands of body shops across the country seem to routinely pop out repaired body panels that are visually perfect, even painted gloss black. If they can do it, I certainly should be able to.
