12/6/2005 (4.5 hours):

I installed the plywood inserts, floxed around their edges to make a nice transition, and then installed the BID reinforcements. This is a fairly straightforward step. I wish the plans would split up steps that require you to wait for cure. It's annoying to do something and not be able to mark off the step as completed because you have one more thing to do (drilling for and installing the brackets).

12/7/2005 (0.25 hours):

I floxed on the seat belt brackets, but discovered that despite ordering ALL of the hardware, I was somehow missing the screws that go here. I have an order in to get them - guess I'll have to wait ANOTHER week to close this step. =( I also need to get a 7/16" counterbore for the heads of the screws.

Misc dates (3 hours):

This is a low-priority build item so I'm slowly getting it out of the way. I'm working on attaching the seat belt brackets, but it's not going well. I drilled the holes for the attach bolts, but they didn't go straight in, so I had to adjust things slightly to get the bolts to line up properly. Then I discovered that my bolts weren't long enough. I don't know what I did wrong, but it seems I needed something longer in order to ensure that I'd have the "three threads showing" above the nut once it was tightened down. I didn't want to drill the pocket for the bolt heads too deep for fear of drilling into and weakening the longeron. I ordered some slightly longer bolts from Spruce, installed the two that I had on hand, and am waiting for the others to arrive so I can finish the other seat belt attach locations.

Note that my installation is fairly simple because all four installations are identical. I'm installing a retractible step instead of the fixed unit. I'm actually glad I made this decision, because I've now also decided to copy the Cozy Girrrls' swept-forward strakes, and the plans step would be in an awkward spot anyway. I'm deferring the step installation until after the strakes are built, when I know better where, exactly, it should go.

Incidentally, one thing I don't like about retractible steps is that they're always round, which is hard on a foot if you have to stand on it for extended periods, doing maintenance or whatever. There's an easy solution - I'll fabricate a lightweight cover for it, a little larger than the original plans step (might as well make it comfy), and slip it over the retract's rod when it's extended. I'll use pins to ensure it stays put, which will also provide some safety so it doesn't depart in flight if I somehow forget to remove it.

1/27/2006 (2 hours):

I'm held up working on the nose gear because I ran out of birch plywood. While I wait for it to arrive, I'm doing some other tasks here and there. I've found it useful to skip around a lot, so there's always something to do if you're held up on a big step. This is a big project, and it can get frustrating when you constantly deal with very large, intricate steps that take 8 hours to do. Sometimes it's nice to just do a 1-hour job.

That's what this was. I received the longer bolts I needed from Spruce a few weeks ago, but hadn't installed them. Yesterday and today I drilled the recesses for their heads, installed them with flox, and tightened everything down. I have the recommended "three threads" showing above the nuts, and I didn't have to weaken the longeron. Problem solved.

4/26/2007:

In later chapters I installed the step. I found aluminum rod stock and tubing that had a very close fit, cut a slot in the tubing, and slid the rod stock inside it. A hole in the rod allows a handle to be installed through the slot in the tubing, controlling its movement and providing stops at each end when rotated. (The drywall screw here is just a placeholder - I tapped this for an AN3 for permanent installation, but didn't want to wear out the threads since I was removing it a lot.) To hold the tubing in place there is a piece of foam underneath it, forming a support near the centerline, with fiberglass over the top of it and onto the floor. It looks messy here because it hasn't been cleaned up yet, but it's relatively light, very strong, and definitely nice to have. There's one on the passenger side, too, because I'll have a forward-hinged canopy.