July 14, 2020
This morning I finished installing the seat belt anchors by dimpling, priming and riveting in the mounts together. The right angle drill came in so I was able to completely install them. One more “little thing” done that I can check off the list.
Since I can’t rivet the wing skins without Kacy, I’ve decided the next step that I can do by myself is install and rig the empennage. In order to do the rigging, the control sticks need to be mounted to set the lengths on the pushrods.
The plans have you build the control column up and then set it aside for installation, we did that a while ago. The quick build kit only modifies the center two seat ribs, so the control column has to be completely disassembled to install it one piece at a time. I get so frustrated by the extra work generated following the instructions – but until I design my own plane there’s not much I can do. Next chance I get, I’ll be modifying two additional seat ribs with removable pieces so I can take out the control column as one single piece.
The replacement Z bracket for the one we mis-drilled earlier showed up today. I went ahead and cut that into shape for the center cover between the flap motor and seat floors finishing off that piece.
I also drilled the right seat stick for a bolt to hold it in place in accordance with an SB-07-2-6. I don’t see any reason to remove the right stick regularly or quickly in the field, so I didn’t see the need to do the “quick remove” mod that some people install.
I forget exactly what hole size I had to drill up to, probably about 5/8″, but there wasn’t enough room behind it to get the stepper bit through. I ended up cutting the stepper bit in half so I could get the hole large enough with the shallow depth. Don’t be afraid to modify your tools in order to get the job done.
-Paul
(Total Build Time: 422.1 hrs)