Every so often I start getting that spread-too-thin feeling on this project. Too many things unfinished because they’re dependent on other things, and sometimes, the genuine chicken-and-egg scenario. I’ve also got a whole lot of ‘blow that off until you get to the airport’ type jobs to do that usually come about due to lack of space or lack of helping hands. After yesterday’s autopilot fun, I decided to make a list. I’m going to do it here, so bear with me if it goes fractal and sounds like Ginsberg from time to time.
What i’ll do is list what I have to do, then list the excuses for why I haven’t done them. Sound good?
We’ll go by subkit and make it easy:
Empennage:
fiberglass tips – Can’t do that until the final elevator balancing is done, which needs to be done with everything rigged.
strobe/position light wiring – No excuse for this at all, just haven’t done it. Need to do the fiberglass work as well.
trim servo cotter pin (yeah, this is an easy one, I know) – I just have to do this one.
trim servo wiring run – I may have hosed myself on this one. I’m not sure exactly where/how to feed the servo wiring from the servo to the root of the emp so it can run forward to the cockpit.
body filler/damage control – The empennage is where all the early mistakes got made, so there’s some ugly stuff I need to plaster over with body filler. An extra hole from a badly placed dimple die while dimpling for the stiffeners, for instance
Wings:
wingtip wiring connectors, nav antenna wire – I’m storing the wingtips on the overhead ledge. I filed this task under ‘airport.’
Autopilot servo – My clever conduit interferes with the bracket. I now have to take a section of conduit out and route the wires around the bracket/servo assembly. See yesterday’s entry.
closing the wing skins – Airport or right before. I’m not closing those up unless I’m absolutely sure I won’t need to get in there again.
Fuselage:
Autopilot Pitch servo – Just haven’t done it yet. Need to fab bracket and make pushrod, but I can’t do this unless the elevators are rigged and neutral. I just took the emp off so I could move around the shop again.. I should have waited. Whaargarbl.
Rudder cables – need to paint the interior before I run those cables.
Brake pedal support – need to paint it and paint the interior. first.
Firewall recess – waiting to see if I do or don’t need to reach my arm through that hole to buck something (lame)
Fuel lines – Need to paint interior first.
Subpanel, panel and canopy supports – in process now.
Finish kit – Everything.
Well, that’s all I can think of for now. I’ll probably edit this as I think of new stuff.
« Archives on March 14, 2009