Finish Kit has Arrived !

So I got a call from ABF that my finish kit was to be delivered today.  I was supposed to meet the driver someplace because they would have a difficult time getting to my home address.

Much to my surprise, the driver called and said: "I am at the foot of your driveway."  So I had to hurry and run down to the road with my truck and slide the finish kit into the bed.  He was blocking the road so I had to expedite and did not get any pics.

Let me tell you, the finish kit crate is heavy!

Had to call over some help to get the crate out of the pickup and into the garage.  Once it was inside, I started pulling out all the parts.  5 large leaf bags of paper later I had a pile of parts.

Not shown is the canopy, rear window, and the canopy frame.  Not sure why I did not take pics of those items. 

Sure does not look like much for the cost of this kit!

WAITING......

 So now I am officially waiting on my finish kit.  The basic airframe construction is complete.

My local EAA chapter is also building an RV12 and for some reason only known by Van's their finish kit shipped before mine even though I ordered mine 5 months before they did.  They are not even close to needing their finish kit.  I accepted my modified order as soon as I got the notice, paid my deposit and my final payment as soon as I got the notice.

Not really that happy with Van's right now because of this.  There is no real excuse for not honoring customer's place in line when the customer is not causing a delay.  Kits should be shipped in order of order receipt period.

Wings done! Part 46.....

 Finished the other flaperon.

Another 1000 rivets down.  I am now part way through the last box of LP3-4's!

Done... 

I am now officially waiting on finish kit to ship.

Wings part 45

Installed the leading edge skins on the left flaperon tonight.

First you rivet on the outboard nose skin.

Then the inboard nose skin.

And finally the center nose skin.

One flap complete. Amazing out stiff this thing is after the nose skins are riveted on.  As long and narrow as it is, it does not twist!  I showed my wife how small the bracket is that actuates this long flight control and even she was surprised.

I am not installing the hinge bearings at this point to make it easier to store these things without causing damage.

Wings part 44

Back from San Antonio and working on the flaperons. 

First I riveted these hinge brackets to the nose ribs.

And then riveted them to the spars along with the other half of the system that slides into the slot on the flaperon torque tube.  These being pre-made saved a ton of work!

Then I riveted the ribs to the spar.

And the other nose rib.

And the tie down brackets.  Again, these being pre-made saved a ton of work.

Then I riveted on the counterbalance assembly.

And the other tie down bracket.

Rinse and repeat for the other flap.

Then I riveted the aft skins to the structure of the right flap.

They have you use these special fuel tank baffle rivets due to the clearance issues with the rivets being on opposite sides and close together.  I don't care for these rivets because they end up deforming the skins a little bit and the stem does not always break off flush.

Break time - Army Reunion

 This weekend we are flying to San Antonio for my reunion with my Army buddies that I served with during Operation Desert Shield/Storm.   I have not seen some of these brothers for more than 32 years!

Remember freedom is not free!  It is because of the sacrifices made by folks like these that allow us to be able to do many of the things we do and take for granted!

This is just one of the 8 troops we had represented.  This was my troop "T" for Tomahawk troop.  We were the maintenance troop for the squadron.  My MOS was 67T which basically means I was a BlackHawk crew chief/door gunner/mechanic.  

All of the wives that attended.  They are very special to be able to put up with us!

Due to the venue we did not get a group picture this year.  Here is last year's picture.  We had somewhere around 70 troopers this year which was a big increase over the past years.  

Several of our squadron's officers went on to have great success in their careers.  We have a two star as well as a one star general and several full bird colonels in our group.

We also had the honor of serving with Command Sergeant Major Patterson whom is a Vietnam era Medal of Honor recipient. Citation Here

Wings part 43

Scrubbed all these parts for priming.

And then primed them.