5 DEC 15: Re-tighten parking brake fittings, paint pedals: 3.75 hours

Removed the parking brake assembly in order to tighten the fittings.  Then prepped and painted the pedals:

6 DEC 15: Re-rivet pedal brackets, page 38-3, steps 1-3: 3 hours

Well, in my last post, I showed off my pretty, painted pedals.  Unfortunately…when I went to assemble the pedals, I discovered that I assembled the pedals backwards.  The major issue was the cylinger brackets.  One of the brackets riveted back on correctly:

This also means that the front face of the pedals (which I thought was aft) have the shop head of the rivet on them.  I thought about drilling them all out, but really didn’t have the motivation, so I decided to keep it this was and just use the shop heads for some extra traction!  The good news is that you cannot see the unpainted side of the brackets as they are next to the cylinders:

With my retirement from the military a couple short weeks away, the delay that I am expecting on the build is getting close.  I’ve been plugging away fairly steadily on the build, but expected a delay as I transition into my civilian life, new career, etc.  The delay got a bit closer this Thursday, as I interviewed for a regional airline and was offered a February 1 class date to begin training to be a CRJ First Officer.  As a testament to how bad the regionals are struggling to find pilots (as a result of the ATP rule being implemented last summer), I received this offer without 1 hour of multi engine airplane time and only 400 ASEL, part 91 flight hours – almost all of them in my RV-7A!  With my rotor ATP and helicopter time, my RV time was enough to get an interview and offer.  I really was not looking to go the airline route, but the industry hasn’t looked this good in a long time and I feel like I need to take advantage of the hiring climate.  NO WAY would I be able to walk into jet time with 400 ASEL hours any other way.  So my last day in the military is 24 December, I begin my comm AMEL training 2 January (need 25 hours before beginning airline training), and go to Ohio 1 February to begin ground school.  After about a month of ground training, I will go to Charlotte for 6 weeks or so for simulator training.  I’ll then be sent to an ATP CTP course, so I can take my ATP AMEL written.  Wish my rotor ATP written counted, but it does not – even though much of the material will be the same – oh well.   Excited to begin my next adventure!  Ok back to the build…

11 DEC 15: Page 38-3, steps 1-3, 38-4 5-6, 38-5 1-3: 3.5 hours

Finished installing the pedals and cylinders:

Installed the pedal assembly into the forward fuselage:

12 DEC 15: Page 38-6, steps 1-3, 38-7 1-3, 38-8 1-4, 38-9 1, 38-10 2-8: 5.25 hours

Installed all of the brake lines:

Ran the rudder cables through the fuselage assembly.  This adel clamp was not too fun to install jammed inside the tail cone:

Exit from the tail cone:

Cable entry into the center tunnel: