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WOW

Mark,

It is really lookin' good. I know you are happy to get it to the airport. Looks cool sitting in the hanger. Nice looking paint. It won't be long now.
 
Mark,

It looks great. I can't wait until you get the tail and wings on. Painting is going well for me this weekend and I may be moving my fuselage to the airport by next weekend (fingers crossed). I saw Terry and Donna at the DZ today and showed them pictures of your airplane. They are impressed and like your paint scheme.
 
We labored today on Labor Day to get my engine hung! Thanks for the help guys and gals! Actually, it went extremely smooth, and hanging these things is getting quicker and quicker the more we do!

In this pic, it's me, Jack Holland (JACKR), Rob Johnson (robjohnson), Roger Hougham, and Larry Enyeart (f14rio)...not seen is my wife Brittne, my mom and dad, and Rob's wife Christine.
9-1-08-002w.jpg


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:cool:
 
LOOKS GREAT CHAD!!! Congrats Man!!!

I suppose it won't be long before you can hang up the keys to that Lear 35 and start flying that -7 full time! :D

- Peter
 
Moving forward!

Got an engine, put it on a stand and filled it with oil until i can find an A&P who makes house calls. Also riveted the left seat, finished the flap actuator, and riveted the baggage floor. I sort of did this out of order. The construction manual has you putting on the top forward skin before the actuator and baggage floors, but I opted for easy access instead. Yesterday when I got done, I sat in the plane and had a cherry soda to celebrate my efforts (beer was available, but there was more power tool stuff to do).

To all who advised me on the engine, thanks again!
 
1000 HOUR BUILD TIME

Finally made it to the 1000 hour mark. Have a few months or years :D left to
finish up but I am having a pretty good time.

 
Yesterday I reached a major milestone in my build....

I PICKED UP MY ENGINE!

There is a very long story behind how I came to aquire this engine but lets suffice to say that I ended up with what I feel is a very good value for me and my airplane!

My rebuilt (new to me) engine is a O-360 Lycomming with 3.0 SMOH. The engine was recently torn down, inspected and reassembled and test ran by Don from Don's Dream Machines. Along with many new parts, many of the parts were inspected and yellow tagged by Aircraft Specialties. The crank was reconditioned, brought up to snuff on about 4 SB's including the SB505 (yes.. who knew that some cranks could be repaired to meet the SB505?), and recertified/yellow tagged by Aircraft Specialties.

Aquiring the engine for an aircraft project is most likely the most emotional and exciting time for a homebuilder so here are a few acknowledgements from me to people that helped make this happen for me!

Thank God for allowing me to have a blessed life in order to participate in such a hobby!

Thanks to Tim McGinnis for his friendship and the opportunity to purchase this engine from him along with many other related items etc. I want Tim to know that I understand that he went out on a limb for me and without his generosity, it may have been many more years before I could aquire an engine! The list is long and I know that he sacrificed some of his personal investment in this engine when he made it available to me and saw this thing through!

Thanks to Bob Dougherty and Chuck Windham for all the millions of questions I ask them all the time about engines!

Thanks to Don from Don's Dream Machines http://www.donsdreammachines.com/site for being one of the most stand up guys I have ever met. I do not want to get into the particulars here but let me assure you, Don went above and beyond by about 2000 percent of what most people in his line of work would have done in a million years to make a long list of bad circumstances go away and to deliver me what should prove to be a great engine! That is one multigenerational family business that will be around a long, long time!

DSCN6668.jpg


DSCN6669.jpg


DSCN6670.jpg
 
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Brian,
I have to agree with you about Don and Jeff Swords and their company.
I have about 135 hours on my DMM powered RV-7A and
am very happy about how I was treated. I had never installed
a Lycoming before and found I couldn't make the carb linkage work.
I called Don and easier linkage parts and instructions were in the mail.
That experience and others point out to me that Don is a very honorable
and obliging person that will go out of his way to 'make it work'.

Tom
 
Looks great!

After a little more riveting, the flippin' crew helped me get the fuselage right side up. YES, it is very exciting.

http://picasaweb.google.com/RVRCMOONPIE/ForwardFuselage#

Robert,
I know how you feel! It's a big step in the right direction.

I didn't realize you had such a support team available! That's great.

I want to say something else but the lights are starting to blink so I'd better fire this reply off right now.

Congratulations,
Mark
 
Thanks Mark,

Stay dry. Hunker down.. Maybe Ike will be nice and leave you alone. Didn't y'all have a fly-in today? How did that go?
 
Baffled out...

Pretty much knocked over the baffles over the past two weeks (still thinking about making an epoxy/glass plenum to go on top instead of the seals.....TBA).

Induction snorkel now on - managed to fit it without cutting it in half however had to take a large scallop out of the top (and re-glassed) to provide clearance for the starter.

Now onto plumbing and electrical.....

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[/URL]





 
Canopy

Still plugging away on the canopy and today I installed the plexiglass into the frame for hopefully the last time. I am very happy with the overall frame fit and have been working on it with the gas struts installed. I'm hoping by doing this, it will settle into its final resting spot for the most part now. I know it will still move around until the front is riveted and the canopy is installed for the last time but it seems pretty close. We'll see.

(It's difficult to see in these pictures but I bolted the aft edge of the front fuselage skin down with 2-56 machine screws to keep it down tight where the clecos would interfere while opening)

I'm sure ready to work on something a little less mental though, this canopy thing really makes my brain tired. :rolleyes:

C1.jpg


C2.jpg


C3.jpg


C4.jpg
 
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Jeff, I'm working the canopy and not far behind you. When I open the top skins grab - just right of the centerline. I've got about a 1/16 inch gap between the skins? I've filed the inside edge of the canopy frame skin and that has helped but it still grabs most of the time. Any suggestions? What kind of gap did you end up with?
 
Jeff, I'm working the canopy and not far behind you. When I open the top skins grab - just right of the centerline. I've got about a 1/16 inch gap between the skins? I've filed the inside edge of the canopy frame skin and that has helped but it still grabs most of the time. Any suggestions? What kind of gap did you end up with?

I haven't measured mine but it looks pretty close to 1/16. Every once in a while I get a very slight catch when opening so I still have a little more filing to do also. My plan is to make it so it never catches now, then after I rivet the front skin down someday I will recheck the fit.
 
RE;Great canopy

Jeff

Good looking canopy. I found it to be one of the more challenging parts of the build............paint is a close second if not FIRST!!!!!!:eek:

Frank @ 1L8 ...RV7A... painting ............
 
Don't file anymore now

I haven't measured mine but it looks pretty close to 1/16. Every once in a while I get a very slight catch when opening so I still have a little more filing to do also. My plan is to make it so it never catches now, then after I rivet the front skin down someday I will recheck the fit.

Don't file anymore now. Wait until you get the front skin riveted in place. The clecos don't hold it as securely as the rivets will.

THEN, file or block sand the front of the canopy skin for clearance. Don't forget to allow for paint later.
 
I got dirty today. First time with ProSeal, and I must say, WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL????

n12804481_34472101_1620.jpg


Dad got me with the ProSeal-covered rivet gun on the shirt too - it's my "ProSeal badge of courage":

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It gets much worse once your up to your armpits down in the leading edge but like you say it is no where near as bad as people let on.
 
Little Docs Question

I'm working on a 9A tip up. Fuse is the same. My center skin caught too. Try adding some shims under the front center of tip up skin. I think I have two .020 shim stacked. One is longer than the other to create a taper.

Alan Jackson
 
Alan, finally got back in the shop and tried the shims - works much better. I belive it clears enough for paint and it looks fine. I'll be so glad to be done with this canopy!

Thanks,
Larry Wilhite
7A QB Working on the Canopy
 
well i have painted the fuse and it turned out so so. not my best work but ok. i was not able to use the dpx 1791 due to it seeding. i tried three batches of two different lot numbers. no joy...

Heartbroken, i returned to the old alumna prep 33 and alodine 1201 song and dance....what a PITA that is..it takes HOURS to blow down the seams.

next time i will go variprime and imron. (dupont) i have always used PPG but man i had troubles with the seeding and solvent pop in the color coats.. the solvent pop was my fault however. There are brands such as martin seniour that are much more user friendly. i have a dupont store just up the street. the ppg store is a 30 minute ride from the house.


here is the seeding. It is a rough texture and if you look closely you might be able to see the dark spots.(small as dust) the paint was mechanicaly shaken, filtered through paint strainers and also filtered through a bounty paper towel. nothing helped.


so i washed all that off with thinnner and the next day scuffed it and alumnapreped it then alodined..did i mention it took hours to get the **** out of the seams. rinse rinse rinse rinse blow for days it seems.
now for the alodine.....






so then i proceeded to tape her up and paint. not so good here. i ended up sanding it the next day and shooting it again with two light coats. if i had initially done three i would have just sanded and buffed..lets just say i dont have any rivet heads that are not bridged.
but it turned out ok in the end..


the very next day i moved it outside after almost wanting to shoot myself in the head trying to lay out the stripes. UUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHH...man what a time eater that was.holy ****. that took forever as well. man i am too used to painting cars i guess.
anywho i got them laid out after removing the plane from the paint room...ya just gotta be able to back up and stare at it. amazing how keen the eye is to a 1/4 of an inch. these lines are pretty close ...as close as i could get them anyway.



the blue stripe took 5000 feet of paper to cover the plane.


another 5 k of paper for the grey..oh BTW if you are gonna paint your plane get a tape/paper dispenser..or you are gonna be hating it

an exapmle here http://www.autobarn.net/xxxw-ap-asms2.html but a twin roll machine can be bought at harbor freight for about 30.00..may as well get a paint shaker while your there on sale 89.00.



after the grey was applied i went to dinner and lowes. needed more MEK for gun cleaning and mixing cups. when i got home i un-taped it and was releived that all of the paint stayed on the plane.


and another view.
 
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the rest of the paint

and a little personal touch i decided to try. i like to bowhunt so i said mmmmm ok, whatever >>>> i think it's aight. we'll see.


now naturally i picked the best pictures to post so dont go thinking its the quality of a professional job cause it is not. it is presentable though...i wanted it better but i am just too limited in experience to get a show finish. next time you see the person that painted your plane give them another 500 dollars because it is doubtfull you paid them enough... :eek:

the best tip i have gotten is from a painter at the cadillac dealer where i used to work. his name is Jimbo. he said nevermind flash times just touch the paint on the ajacent surface (the tape that is) and if it doesnt string shoot your next coat, if it does, it will run if you shoot again....you also dont want it to not be tacky or you will likely get solvent pop. really changed things. also going one reducer slower when approaching the end of the reducers range.

and one to grow on.



i hope this page makes you want to paint your own plane. because misery loves company :D ......oh BTW a special thanks goes out to Randy Lervold. :mad: for it was his page that led me to this insanity of painting my own plane and my brother for getting me started on building one. now if all the paint will just stay on the plane. :eek:
 
Looks Great

William,
It looks great!

As you know, I feel your pain. But when it's over I'm sure we'll be glad we painted our own airplanes.

I've got just a few control surfaces to finish and then I'll paint the wings.
Are your wings painted yet? If not, are you going to mount them on a rotating fixture of some kind?

I see you took the stop bolt out of the nosewheel fork so it can spin all the way around while finishing the airplane!
That's a great idea..why didn't I think of that??

Mark
 
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William,
It looks great!

As you know, I feel your pain. But when it's over I'm sure we'll be glad we painted our own airplanes.

I've got just a few control surfaces to finish and then I'll paint the wings.
Are your wings painted yet? If not, are you going to mount them on a rotating fixture of some kind?

I see you took the stop bolt out of the nosewheel fork so it can spin all the way around while finishing the airplane!
That's a great idea..why didn't I think of that??

Mark

Mark i sure hope your right.:eek:

i have not painted the wings but plan on converting the wingstand this weekend to a rotisserie of some sort.:confused:

as far as the nose wheel stops, in my opinion that has to be done to manuever..if you didnt do that i dont see how you kept from going insane.:eek: now if i can just follow suit and get a trailer 92 inches wide to get this puppy to the airport.:D:D
 
Looking good William! Thanks for the update and pictures. I'm planning on painting mine also. (Actually my dad used to paint cars so he'll probably shoot it and I'll be the grunt.)
 
thanks,
thats a fair trade IMHO ;) it is alot of work and can be very rewarding.
good luck with it . post some pics when its time..
 
William,
I'm also having trouble with seeding in the DPX1791. Have not found the trick yet, except to spray it a little too wet.....which doesn't work on vertical surfaces. Maybe there is some narrow middle ground I'm missing. Anybody have any ideas?

I wrote the PPG tech folks for their recommended systems over aluminum and posted the reply in another thread a few months back. DPX 1791-DPLF-color is #1 on the list. However, two coats of DPLF, then color is the second most popular choice and PPG-approved.

I'm spraying tail parts now, which include faired glass tips. Can't spray DPX1791 over glass, and the tip areas already have a sanded DPLF primer coat anyway. So, I'm trying the "2 coats DPLF, no DPX" method on the tail.
 
I guess it's time to post where my project is and how long I've been working on it. I have two pics, one of the fuse and one of where I'll be spending most of my time when completed. I started this project in Aug of 2006. I've been primarly been doing this myself inbetween all the work in my transmission shop, I know, I'm spoiled. Now when I did the painting I basically did the acid etch and light scuff and than, to prevent the silicon thing, which I did have some problems with on a test piece, which is actually the back panel for with the EXPERIMENTAL on it. I have a spot just to the left of the sticker. Well that will be my panel for the ELT. Problem solved. But what I found to help is to wipe the entire surface with MEK and with brand new white rags from costco(Terry cloth) Never use any used rags. Than hit it with the primer(Stewart systems) sand until things look good, hit with another coat of primer, let set a couple days, sand and then... Put on the top coat, as per instructions, I did have a fuse stand and that was way cool, did the top coat within 2 hrs. I would say about 3more hours on the prep and primer.

I thought the whole process was fun, never got frustrated. There was a couple spots that I wanted nice and filled them with filler. I have a little orange peal, not bad, a couple runs, not bad either, only a couple spots with dirt, you have to know where they are. I feel with a little wet sanding it will look like a million bucks. I have customers all the time come in and when they see the paint they just google, well actually the whole project. Of course I'm NOT going to show them my booboo's. That's builders previlage. I don't have a paint booth, and I put some plastic on the floor. The overspray was very minimal and stuff in the paint was very minimal, the smell afterwards was pert nil. I only had to use a charcoal filter and mixing paint was very easy. It's been over a month since I painted and the look is fantastic. I have taken my fingernail on the surface and I can't scratch it. Don't use a sharpie on the paint, it is tough to get off. Anyway here is a couple pics.

pilotstation1.JPG

fusepaint1.JPG
 
Alumiprep/alodine on the completed fuselage?

well i have painted the fuse [...] Heartbroken, i returned to the old alumna prep 33 and alodine 1201 song and dance....what a PITA that is..it takes HOURS to blow down the seams. ...

William,

The paint job looks great! But I have a question about your method. I've always thought that using alumiprep/alodine on an assembled structure was a no-no, isn't it? Seems like the stuff will wick into seams and nooks and crannies, and you won't be able to get it all out no matter how carefully you rinse and blow and rinse and blow... I would think that acid trapping like that could actually cause severe corrosion down the line. I'm only projecting my experience from the electronics industry, I have no experience in painting airplanes. Is this a recommended practice?

-Roee
 
well yes i suppose it is.

i would suspect that would be correct but all the ones i have seen have been similarly done this way with no ill effects.

the people ive interviewed about this very thing all come back to rinse rinse rinse . and that is where the time comes in. all of the faying surfaces have also been preped and primed with epoxy primer in the same fasion so ther is some protection there. this was not my prefered method but the when the PPG 1791 failed me it was the new plan. :( IMHO not as good and ten times the work.

that said, this is the method that vans used on a few of their planes.

you must insure you get it all out. the two areas where this is difficult are the double rivet rows on the bottom and sides. these i rinsed forever. rinse blow rinse blow....you get the picture.

i would prefer to paint with the dx 1791 but it is junk.. now i have to paint the wings and i am contemplating using dx170 nonchrome selfetching primer and then dplf epoxy primer then the color. yeah i know it will weigh a ton :rolleyes:
 
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What a month - I'm Getting there

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Loading her up on Labor Day!

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Convoy

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At the airport

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Hanging Wings

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That's me in the cockpit

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Getting ready for 1st engine start

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Yeah!

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Lot's of debugging, tuning, etc. left to do but we're getting closer!
 
very nice joe, motivates me to keep diggin. hopefully i can experience the same in the next couple of weeks. must be a great feeling to fire it up for the first time.....;)

dont let the fiberglass get ya...show it who the boss is.

i say this all the while getting my tail cut by paint...:eek:
 
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A little progress...

Not a lot of progress this year, but I finally got the engine mount for my 13B, and managed to finish building the engine test stand. So, hopefully, I can get to work putting the engine together.

092008_EngineStand-1.jpg


Here's the 13B that is waiting to be put together.

092008_EngineStand-3.jpg


Tracy
 
the saga continues, notice the trees in the reflection look globuular. so i shot a 3rd coat on it. i thought it was too rough, (it wasnt this rough at 2 coats btw.) i almost let it go but i knew i would kick myself daily if i did. sooooooo i shot another coat on the wing.. and im glad i did. i wet sanded with 2000 and buffed with the 3M compound and then with the swirl mark remover (both machine applied products by 3m.) then 3M imperial hand glaze.

I mean this with all seriousness, the new 3m stuf is unmatched in quality and ease at which it is applied. dont let the parts house sell you the older stuff by 3m as it doesnt even compare to this. (still alot of it on the shelves)
i used the older stuff on the v/s it looks good in pics but the compound is to coarse and cut the paint off of the rivet heads. the finish was hazy..the new stuff leaves your paint looking wet. it is not a filler method but a polish method. a series of chemical and abrasive polishing.



and note the definition here. came out really nice.


those are not water streaks on the wing, that is the reflection of the beads in the metal roof.





this is not prefect mind you, but good enough i wont feel too imbarassed :oops: when i get nit picked. may not even have to smack anyone. ;):D

one more wing to go :( likely wont post any pics of that or the wing tips. im off to the airport.....sooooon. :mrgreen:
 
My jealousy rating is high right now! It looks great in those pictures, cyto.

Just "mocked up" my finished elevator/HS/VS/Rudder yesterday for the first time. Looking forward - with trepidation - to the wings...

Good luck with the painting.

MB
 
My jealousy rating is high right now! It looks great in those pictures, cyto.

Just "mocked up" my finished elevator/HS/VS/Rudder yesterday for the first time. Looking forward - with trepidation - to the wings...

Good luck with the painting.

MB

thanks mb

the wings could very easily be easier, just way more repitition. i guess van thinks if your gonna waste some parts let them be the cheaper price parts.
a spar for instance is +-1300.00

this is about to get reaaaal interesting. :cool:

now i need to start looking for some transistion training and a maybe a test pilot.:eek:
good luck on your build.
 
Looks great!

William,
Your wings look really good.

The wings are all I have left on my painting adventure.
I plan to start on them this weekend.

When you have time could you post the part numbers of the 3M products you mentioned for the polisihing? I have some places I want to try to polish up a little. Imron is not easy to polish but some say it can be done.

Also, what kind of buffing wheel and what are you driving it with?

Thanks!
Mark
 
Did you guys set up paint boothes and what-not? Is it necessary?

My long range plan has always been to get the plane professionally painted, but the more I think about it, the more I think I'd get huge satisfaction from painting it myself and doing my own artwork.

Are you all pretty happy that you're doing it yourself?
 
I salute you

webb, thats a great place to be ......at the paint shop. wise choice. no need to work yourself to death.;)

William, after reading your post, I salute you on the time and effort spent on painting. After 1509 hours spent building (doesn't count the ~750 hours my building bud helped with), I couldn't bring myself to do the paint job. Also, I may be good at some things....painting is not one!!!

Lookin' good!!
 
William,
Your wings look really good.

The wings are all I have left on my painting adventure.
I plan to start on them this weekend.

When you have time could you post the part numbers of the 3M products you mentioned for the polisihing? I have some places I want to try to polish up a little. Imron is not easy to polish but some say it can be done.

Also, what kind of buffing wheel and what are you driving it with?

Thanks!
Mark

Mark and webb,

thanks,

a couple others have asked the same question.. here they are
2000 grit sand paper
sanding pad pn 05526

pefect it III rubing compound qt. pn-05933
white compounding pad pn-05731

perfect it swirl mark removerqt. pn- 06064
grey pad 1500 rpm's pn-05735


all products are 3M....

MACHINE SANDING PROCESS

i did use some norton 3000 da paper and got some pigtails...(these are the sanding marks left by the paper loading up, THEY WONT COME OUT UNLESS YOU SAND THE PAINT TOOOO THIN. LETTIN EM RIDE.)
.if your not gonna use the 3M foam paper Trizac, DO IT BY HAND THE 3m VIDEO ADDRESSES THIS ISSUE BUT its 65$for 25 sheets :eek: norton was 30$ for 15 SHEETS :eek: :eek: :eek: i bought the 1500 and the 3000 ....wasted money. maybe i'll use it on a car. :rolleyes:

HAND SANDING PROCESS

2000 GRIT, 5 SHEET PACK 6.00$ wrap 1/2 sheet around the sanding pad pn 05526 and wet sand carefully. avoid to many strokes over the rivetheads. they will cut through rather quickly. avoid using too much water because the paper will simply hydroplane on the water. use a spray bottle.



when buffing with the compound pad (white) dont allow the splatter to get on your polishing pad (grey).
cover or move it, othewise youll never get the wet look.
watch the video if you want to spend another couple hundred dollars...but the 2000 by hand works great if you have some ummmph to ya. get the foam wet or dry sanding pad 2-3$, and a rubber squeege its only 2-3 $. makes hand sanding eaaaaasy. good luck the squeegee is for checking as you go so you dont move on too soon. simply squeegee the water off and inspect for low spots.

the easier more expensive way is here. http://shows.implex.tv/3MTV/Root/AAD/4196/player_6817.htm?d=1222101384875
and this may be what you need for poly urethane (imron) 3000 grit paper.???

as far as paint booth, you need something...the cleaner and more air you flow the better. this is the one i built.

Needs way more light mounted in/on the walls. i thought it would reflect better...low light = low satisfaction
 
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mini milestone

put it on the gear.

RV7382.jpg


Then as I rolled back into the work side of the shop, Kris snapped a pic.

RV7383.jpg


I don't get in many of the pics, as I have done 98% of the work solo....even getting it on the gear. I know it will be coming off soon as it's too high to work in this position, but felt good to do something different. heck I might even shove it outside tomorrow for a sunny photo op before winter sets in.

:cool:

push it outside today to give it some sunshine before winter sets in.

RV7386.jpg


b
 
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Wings done... now on to the fuse

Major milestone for us this weekend. Wings and tail complete. Moved that stuff to the hanger. Now we have room in the garage to finish the fuselage. Engine is inbound Christmas from Aerosport.

The boys think this is cool, mom's glad there's room in the garage.

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Holy Cowl

I can't believe I did it. It did take about 20hrs of pulling, cutting, sanding, but I think I did it. I'm sure there is more with the airbox and of course the filling of the pin holes, but I got it to fit. I will say that as soon as you can, stand the two halves on end on the floor, nose up, and finish the front and sides, I also installed the side hinges off the plane, than installed the cowl and did the final fit on the aft ends. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

www.home.comcast.net/~steveallbee/cowl1a.JPG

www.home.comcast.net/~steveallbee/cowl2a.JPG
 
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