Well, this is dated 5/31/17, but I’m actually posting it in late September. (I really haven’t had time to keep up with things.). Not much detail to put on the page this many months after completion, but I finally finished another laborious chapter on the gear fairings.
Nose Wheel Fairing Front
This piece is one of the few that is not done by The Book. The Book calls for a hidden piano hinge inside the trailing edge. I had significant difficulty getting this to align and work properly. I eventually discarded this and just went with the natural rigidity of the fiberglass and the excellent form-fit it has relative to the front strut. There are two screws that hold it in place and I believe that this is more than adequate retention.
Alas, I got a bit too confident with the process of drilling and tapping the holes for said screws and discovered that it indeed possible to break off a tap. I used a dremel grinding drum to dress off the broken fragments sticking out, drove to the local hardware store for a replacement and was more careful putting in another tapped hole 1 cm away. The two screws aren’t exactly aligned, and that bothers my eye, but it serves as a good reminder of how to be a careful builder.
Another first! Nicholas and I spent a great day doing guy stuff. Started out at the local firing range and went through about 300 rounds of 9 mm and 223. Lada said it was OK to take Nicholas flying, so we headed over to Urbana for a nice Sunday afternoon lunch. For those of you who are familiar with the restaurant at Urbana, you know what I’m going to say next: they’re closed on Sunday afternoon.
Oh, well. Back in the plane and on our way home to try something else! Here’s Nick climbing out of Urbana. He’s doing very well for his first flight on the controls!
Nick, piloting on a beautiful day!
One of the ‘Hey, wow!” moments came when he realized he could recognize things on the ground. For example, this is his old middle school when he lived in Marysville. I think that the excitement in his voice when he made the identification was wonderful. I hope that he will spend more time in the air with me.
