Now that I have some available time, and my move is mostly complete, I'm getting back into working on the plane. I ordered a replacement fuselage forward top deck piece from Van's. One mistake I made was simply looking at the plans and picking out the part I thought I needed. It turns out that that piece is different if you are planning on using the sliding canopy, which I am. The sliding canopy modifications are not in the main portion of the plans, but in a separate section.

At first I thought I could just order a piece from Alaska Copper and Brass, but they don't carry that alloy and were surprisingly rude about it when I asked. Weird.

I just had a birthday! My wife got a dipstick for my O-320! It was a part my engine didn't have, and it's great to get that port sealed up properly.