UNCRATING THE FINISH KIT There have been a lot of supply chain disruptions in 2021 and I don’t think anyone has been unaffected. It is hard to complain when all I’m waiting for is airplane parts, but it sure felt good to see that finish kit roll in. I was… Read More »Finish Kit Day!
I came across my grandfather’s E6-B from the 60s while studying for my Instrument Rating.
SHORT ARMS = TAILCONE TEAM I have been able to manage a large number of rivets on the tailcone so far. I have been able to combine any number of reaching and stretching techniques employed. But the reality is that this particular section requires an extra pair of hands. Bring… Read More »Tailcone Team
CALLING IN SOME BACKUP I have just about reached the extent of what I can back rivet on the tailcone. It was time to make a call to the bullpen. Fortunately my wife is an expert with a tungsten bucking bar and made quick work of this. Setting rivets in… Read More »The real riveting expert
TRIP TO THE SMITHSONIAN AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM My kids are on Spring Break this week, and we go on a road trip across the country every year. This year we headed east to Washington and Shenandoah National Park. Naturally, we had to stop off at the Smithsonian Air and… Read More »Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
After much back and forth, I decided that for the process of attaching the trim tabs to the piano hinge and subsequently to the elevators, I needed to make a call to the bullpen and bring out a real ace. I think you’ll see I made precisely the right call.… Read More »Called in a real trim tab expert
It is always nice to be reminded of the reason you undertake a challenge such as building an airplane, and today was one of those days. Even in the face of monotonous deburring, having my family around to help out not only took the edge off (deburring pun! Boom!) but… Read More »Bring in the deburring experts
Before I left town for my family reunion out in West Virginia, my great uncle Ronnie called to let me know that a guy he knows (and he knows EVERYONE in that county so that doesn’t narrow it down) built his own airplane and he’d like to take me over… Read More »Checking out a finished RV
I thought the primer smelled toxic… wow. This tank sealant stuff is the real deal. It is a cross between fresh asphalt smell, glue, and rancid meat. It is truly one of the most offensive odors I’ve come across (including college roommates). What it lacks in pleasant aroma it more… Read More »Rudder and tank sealant
Confession: the title was misleading. I am going to start with my family trip today that we all took down to Rough River State Park in Kentucky. It was about a 90 minute flight from KUMP, which was perfect. The whole place was really neat with the runway right inside… Read More »Riveting vertical stabilizer (and family trip!)