Sep 15, 2023     Cowling - (1.5 hours)       Category: Finish Kit

Once again I outlined the scribed lines with a magic marker, this time on the upper cowl. Since it had been stored for a while it took quite a bit of cleaning to get the dust and dirt off it. For the most part things went smoothly, however it appears Van's did not complete scribing the lines on the forward part of the cowling. The entire front looks to have been filled and painted but looks fine. Maybe there are no scribed lines in this area? Also, section 45-05 doesn't explicitly show anything for the top front as it did for the lower front. Time for research.

  Sep 14, 2023     Cowling - (1.5 hours)       Category: Finish Kit

A simple task - started on the lower cowl today. Step 1 - tracing those scribed lines! Although it looks simple, and I guess it is, BUT tracing those hard to see little lines with a fine tip magic marker is a real pain in the.... However, I can see where it's really necessary. The curved areas were a little difficult and in retrospect, I would suggest securing the cowling to make it a little more stable would have been helpful. Next time:-)

  Jul 03, 2023     Deconstructed Crate - (3.5 hours)       Category: Finish Kit

The finish kit in the crate arrived Dec. 8, 2022 and the crate departed, as useful pieces, July 3, 2023. Everything in the crate but the cowling is now either on the plane or will be on it soon.

  Jul 03, 2023     Parts Assembly - (4.0 hours) Category: Finish Kit

Time to get rid of the finish kit box. My friend Paul wanted the lumber from the box. Good idea? Yes. We spent about an hour yesterday prying apart a few small pieces of the stiffeners and pulling out the staples. What a pain in the a$$ that was There must be 5,000 staples in that box. Bottom line; we just disassembled the box and sawed off the ends of the boards and throwing the stapled pieces away. So today we spent the next 3 hours cutting apart the finish kit box saving almost all of the lumber which paul will use for one of his projects. Done, gone and I now have extra space to use for something, yea!

  Jan 30, 2023     Inventory - (1.0 hour) Category: Finish Kit

Hooray! All the backordered parts from my finish kit have arrived and the inventory is complete. That means all the parts for my plane are in the hangar less the engine and avionics which are due in before I'll need them. Let the fun times continue.

  Dec 16, 2022     Inventory - (3.0 hours) Category: Finish Kit

Inventory COMPLETED! All parts are stored. There were a few unidentifiable parts and only a handful of missing items - no big deal, the folks at Van's will be sending them out. One item that worried me was the complete missing EXP119 Kit. After a call to Van's last evening, we figured out the EXP kit was erroneously marked 'Picked' and should have been marked back ordered. Then after a discussion with Tech Support - they are awesome - as Greg Hughes says they are, it turns out I had some old drawings that needed updating for proper part id's and thus some of the unidentifiable parts were identified. Now, finally I can get back to building an airplane.

  Dec 14, 2022     Inventory - (2.5 hours) Category: Finish Kit

Yep, same old stuff.

  Dec 11, 2022     Inventory - (3.0 hours) Category: Finish Kit

More of the same. No need to elaborate.

  Dec 10, 2022     inventory - (3.0 hours) Category: Finish Kit

Pressing on with inventory. I had to do a major cleanup of the hangar to find places to store everything. Boring, but necessary work. No pictures - it's too embarrassing:-)

  Dec 09, 2022     Inventory - (2.5 hours) Category: Finish Kit

Began the not so fun task of inventorying everything in the finish kit. It's amazing the amount of wrapping paper needed to protect everything.

  Dec 08, 2022     Arrival - (.5 hour)       Category: Finish Kit

After a year and a half wait the finish kit has arrived. Stewart transport and driver Mark did an excellent job of delivering it. Thanks to my buddies who helped set it up in my hangar. Inventory is next, AFTER cleaning out the hangar to make room for all the parts.