27 AUG 16:
Holy cow, what a delay in the build! I have just started to get back into the
project; I’ll begin regular updated and hour totals beginning in
September. Today I accomplished two big
tasks that I have been dreading. First,
I completed fitting the canopy. This
took much longer than planned. I believe
I had it on and off a bazillion times and removed a ton of material to get it
to fit. Close, but no cigar. Remove once again and more sanding!
Finally, it fits!
Nice to see the plane with the canopy on – if only
temporarily!
The second thing I did was to repair my left
tank. I never wrote about it, but a long
time ago, when I was transporting the wings to my hangar…get ready for it…one
of the wings fell off the wing stand and fell to the trailer floor! Considering how badly it could have turned
out, I got away relatively unscathed – only a dent to the inboard leading edge
(tank) which also bend the rib flange and compromised the sealant. The damage:
Made a small form block and used a c-clamp to apply pressure:
Used a hammer to tap out some of the bends and get
it back close to the original shape.
Turned out better than I expected.
Damaged sealant removed, sanded, acetoned, and ready for new Proseal:
Repair complete with new Proseal. I’ll let the sealant cure for a week or so
and then do another pressure test on the tank.
Crossing fingers for no leaks!
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