I got back from Oshkosh today.  I had a few goals for the trip:

Audio Panel: I had been trying to decide between the Garmin GMA 240 and PS Engineering PMA5000EX.  They’re both really nice units and each have their strengths and weaknesses.  The PMA5000EX unit has the IntelliVox (auto-squelch) feature while the GMA 240 has the old style manual squelch control.  However, the front panel controls on the GMA 240 are substantially more user-friendly and intuitive.  I had been leaning pretty heavily towards the PMA5000EX, but after the show I’m more split.  I still need to do some more research on this.

Canopy Attach:  I have been trying to decide between screwing the canopy to the frame and gluing it on with sikaflex.  The sikaflex solution results in no holes in the canopy which dramatically reduces the chance of cracks, but it’s still a relatively new solution, so the long-term success of this solution is not proven.  The plans specify that the canopy is held on with screws all around, but the difference in the coefficients of expansion between aluminum and plexiglass is substantial, and a rigid fastener like a screw can put highly localized pressure on the canopy.  After looking at a bunch of RVs parked in the parking area, I’ve decided that I’m going to use screws along the side skirts and around the aft edge of the rear window, but adhesive across the canopy and cabin frames.  I saw one plane done like this and the results were outstanding.

Electrical System: I’ve been planning on following the AeroElectric Connection wiring diagrams (Z-13), but recently Vertical Power announced the VP-X.  This provides a solid state electrical system that is controlled through your EFIS.  The only issue is that Dynon has not announced support for this since they’re still trying to finish the SkyView system.  I think there is a high likelihood that they will provide support for it at some point though, so the question is whether it will happen by the time I need it.  The VP-X provides some really nice features though such as start button disabling, landing/taxi light auto wig-wag, flap overspeed warning, flap positioning, flap extend disable above Vfe, auto trim speed adjustment based on airspeed, better fault detection and alerting, etc.  If Dynon supported it with the SkyView, there is no question that I would go with it.  I could gamble that it will be done by the time I need it, but then I could be grounded if it wasn’t.  I also need to do some more research on this and see if I can put the decision off as long as possible.

I’m busy remodeling one of our bathrooms, so there will likely not be much work on the RV over the next few weeks.

After a handful of lessons in a Citabria at Aerodynamic Aviation, I got my tailwheel endorsement this morning!  I’m hoping to rack up 20-30 tailwheel flight hours before doing my RV transition training later this fall.

I stopped by the post office this morning and shipped off the plastic side panels.  Despite the fairly large size of the box, it was only $15 to ship it to Oregon.  The cowl was over their size limits, so I had to take it to UPS.  Despite it being only a little bit bigger box and not that much heavier, UPS charged $230 to ship it!  What a fucking ripoff…

I spent some time over the last couple of days putting together a list of all of the work necessary to complete the plane.  The current estimate is approximately 460 hours of work, but that includes work that many builders save until after first flight such as gear leg fairings and wheel pants.  I’m sure there are some missing items, so the list will likely get longer, but I think the estimates are fairly conservative.  At my current work level, that’s still over 6 months of time before first flight though.  I plan on doing my transition training with Mike Seager in OR as close as possible to first flight.  He’s booked up about 3 months in advance, but it doesn’t look like I need to schedule with him just yet.

Update: Wow, this estimate wasn’t even close. My first flight happened in February, 2014 (over two years after this entry was posted)!

I ordered a custom bucking bar from the Yard Store to rivet the remaining firewall rivets that are too close to the engine mount.  Despite looking promising on the website, it was still too big to fit between the firewall flange and engine mount.  I marked the material that looked like it needed to be removed and machined it off in the vertical mill (sorry, no pictures).

Here’s the modified bucking bar.  I’ll know soon enough if it will work.

I stopped by a metal scrap yard over lunch and picked up some scrap steel to make some jack stands.  I picked up some 4″ channel for the bases and 1″ x 1.5″ rectangular tubing for the angular supports as well as some 3″ ID tubing for the upper collar.  I cut and welded these up at the TechShop in about two hours after our local EAA meeting.  The angles aren’t welded to the bases yet since I ran out of time and I only had one jack with me.  I’ll wrap these up and paint them shortly.  The collar doesn’t fit tightly over the jack, so I’ll probably also drill and tap a hole in it so that I can insert a bolt to keep the jack from moving.

I finished up the jacks this morning down at the Tech Shop.  I’m still not great with the MIG welder, but the welds on this are more than strong enough.  The base of the jack is welded to the frame and a bolt is inserted through the top ring to prevent the jack from moving.  After cleaning it thoroughly, I applied a coat of orange paint that approximately matches the jack.

I drilled the data plate to the fuselage.

I also drilled the rudder cable fairings to the fuselage.  Dimpling and riveting the lower rivets is going to be a little tricky because of the J-channel just below it.

I shot a bit of primer on the fuselage and riveted on the data plate.