The tailwheel spring protrudes through the belly skin. You have to cut a hole for it. The plans give you a starting shape. I copied it to a little sheet of paper (I knew that giving my wife that HP all-in-one printer for Christmas was a good idea!). Then I dug deep into my toolbox for this nifty little tool. Don't ask me what it's called...you get them in a sewing supplies store.

I taped the pattern over the tailcone, making sure it was on the centerline.

Then I ran the sewing tool over the pattern, transferring the shape to the metal. I had to supress my revulsion at the thought of intentionally making scratches in my external sheet metal! Actually, it makes a series of neat little dents, like a centerpunch set to its lightest setting.

Then, before removing the pattern, I drilled the start of the hole using a unibit.

The pattern was neatly transferred to the metal.

I traced over it with a Sharpie so that I could see it well enough to cut. Then, my digital camera up and died...

Suffice it to say that taking tin snips to my beautifully made QuickBuild tailcone was a character-building experience. It would mean a huge amount of rework if I blew this!