Two days ago I spent a short while in the workshop and drilled the right HS skin. Not much work. Since Van's was closed on Monday, I ordered the replacement rib yesterday and also asked them about the edge distance of the most forward hole in the HS-405 top and bottom flanges. I got the same answer as generations of builders before: There is just no way of keeping proper edge distance on this hole, and it's fine from an engineering point, so forget it and build on.
I've put the HS on hold for now and will start with the vertical stabilizer.
