Riveted center section of instrument sub-panel in place, and refitted engine.

It's the week leading up to Christmas, so my time is taken up shopping and Christmas parties. It the moment I am held up waiting for very small odd parts to arrive. When they do I then seem to find I am missing another small part - stopping me from continuing! However I have pushed on with painting the instrument sub panel as I want to rivet it in place and start fitting wiring.

Rather busy weekend - but not on the RV Project. Sunday removed engine and frame to work on the firewall. Also had to make some adjustment to the prop govenor.

Contiuning work on plumbing the engine. Fuel lines, fuel pressure, oil temp sender and route of mag wiring. I have noticed a lot of the engine work will be held up - or cannot be varified as correct - until my cowels are fitted, which cannot be fitted until my propeller and spinner is fitted. I have decided to go for the Hartzell HC-C2YR-1BFP/F7496-2, supplied through Vans, its going to be 8 weeks waiting, the spinner they supply is fiberglass so I decided to see if Hartzell did one, they do - 836-60 or 836-60P. It will be metal rather than fiberglass. $1'874!!! Think I will be fitting the $160 fiberglass Van's one........

Sunday - Not such a great day today. It started well when I decided to take the fuse out of the garage and fit the left wing. I have now discovered I have the wrong Fuel Injection Servo.

Another big day - offered up the engine to the frame to see were the controls may need to come through the firewall. All seems well so I have decided to put the fuse on it's wheels.

Refitted canopy this evening to check the space behind the instrument panel. Jo came and helped fit the canopy then we played flying........

Checked all brake pedal lines. Planned Instrument circuit braker layout. Didn't do much more it's 27F outside tonight - workshop is not much above that!!

Started work on the firewall. Fitted batterybox, master and starter relay's. Fitted various nutplates on firewall.

My firewall forward kit arrived from Vans. It's like Christmas has come early!! Jo came out to the workshop this evening and help move the wings around. I just have a few small jobs to complete on the right wing.

Fitted left hub and wheel. It's really cold in the workshop this evening, so I didn't do much more. Ordered the firewall forward kit from Vans this evening.

It's the week leading up to Christmas, so my time is taken up shopping and Christmas parties. It the moment I am held up waiting for very small odd parts to arrive. When they do I then seem to find I am missing another small part - stopping me from continuing! However I have pushed on with painting the instrument sub panel as I want to rivet it in place and start fitting wiring.

The fuel tap arrived from Andair this week so I have gone back to building the fuel pump assembly. This needs to have 5" of straight pipe in and out, so it's been a challenge to find a suitable location.

Time to pull sub panel out and fit the engine analogue box to the subpanel. Spent the rest of the day fixing nutplates and deburring.

Building the map box. Vans supplies an optional kit to fit a map box kit to fit to the instrument panel. I decided to fit the box for additional secure storage and I plan to fit the Advanced Systems (AF-2500) analogue control box on the top of the map box.

Worked on the instrument panel brace behind the Dynon D100.

I decided to take a break from the empannage. As it's cold outside - so I decided to plan the instrument panel layout and make a (second) mockup in MDF. Sunday. I am pleased with the layout so decide to cut the instrument panel.

Spent most of this evening fitting nutplates!

Just a couple of hours in the workshop this evening. I finished forming the curve on the rudder leading edge. Then primed ready to rivet tomorrow evening.

A BIG day today. I ordered the engine for the project and placed my deposit. I could have it within two weeks but they will hold on to it until I am ready for it. This evening I continued work on HS fairing.

I have been away from the project for a while, and collected some parts for the RV wile visiting Florida. John has helped and collected my parcels ready for my arrival. I even managed to collect the new Dynon D100 Electronic Flight Information System.

This evening I drilled the elevator horns, fitted trim servo and control rod.

Started to fit the empanage, so I can fit the elevators and rudder.

Today I decided to fit the firewall bulge. Also bonded rudder trailing edge

Finally finished painting the cockpit floor, stripped all the masking off this evening. Removed the masking from the firewall and front of spar. Looks nice now! Now reinstalling parts, started with rudder pedals and brakes, then fitted the flap control bar. I won't be fitting the instrument sub panels yet as I need to do some riveting on the firewall and the fuse side skins.

Repainted the cockpit footwell this evening.

Prep'ed and sprayed the cockpit footwell area, it didn't go very well I used a different brand of cloth with the panel wipe and it left microscopic fibres behind. So after sprying it looked like I had been through a sand storm!

Another big day - offered up the engine to the frame to see were the controls may need to come through the firewall. All seems well so I have decided to put the fuse on it's wheels.

Refitted canopy this evening to check the space behind the instrument panel. Jo came and helped fit the canopy then we played flying........

Checked all brake pedal lines. Planned Instrument circuit braker layout. Didn't do much more it's 27F outside tonight - workshop is not much above that!!

Started work on the firewall. Fitted batterybox, master and starter relay's. Fitted various nutplates on firewall.

My firewall forward kit arrived from Vans. It's like Christmas has come early!! Jo came out to the workshop this evening and help move the wings around. I just have a few small jobs to complete on the right wing.

Fitted left hub and wheel. It's really cold in the workshop this evening, so I didn't do much more. Ordered the firewall forward kit from Vans this evening.

It's the week leading up to Christmas, so my time is taken up shopping and Christmas parties. It the moment I am held up waiting for very small odd parts to arrive. When they do I then seem to find I am missing another small part - stopping me from continuing! However I have pushed on with painting the instrument sub panel as I want to rivet it in place and start fitting wiring.

The fuel tap arrived from Andair this week so I have gone back to building the fuel pump assembly. This needs to have 5" of straight pipe in and out, so it's been a challenge to find a suitable location.

Fitting the rear skin and rollbar. John (W) comes and helps out.

Topcoat time. I wanted toput the top coat on final skin before fitting. Hopefully to make it easier.... but I still managed to get a few runs!

Primer time - I have dismantled the rollbar, canopy and the rear fuse ready for painting.

Started fitting the canopy rear catches..

The rudder has some blind rivets that stand proud from the skin. It's bugged me for a while, so this morning I decided I could not look at them any longer.

Finished cutting the rear window, made final trim. Started on canopy side strips.

Started fitting rear window.

Finished riveting the canopy frame together, ready for the perspex now.

Continued with re-enforcement.

All holes drilled for canopy frame.

Started on the canopy strut brackets.

Continued work on the canopy - Fitted canopy side rails.

Fully drilled the front pivot's for the canopy tonight. Had to also adjust the top panel so it didn't catch the front edge of the canopy skin..

Made canopy release catch. Started fitting the canopy frame.

Went flying today and collected some extra nut plates from Robert, all fitted by late afternoon.

Riveting and dimpling rear skin and brace. Also thinking about where to fit the strobe power pack, under baggage floor or behind seat?

Worked on trim servo mounting - fuse.

Brake pedals and fuel vent line.

Mostly preparation and painting.

Continued work on fitting HS and VS, trail wheel mount is ready to prime and fit. Prep work for more priming. Jo came and took some pictures of me working on the VS.

Started fitting the HS tonight, Jo came out and helped with the measurement.

Another evening in the workshop, reviewed my painting from lastnight. Still waiting for my flaring tool to arrive from the US so decided to fit the nutplates to the center floor vents and fuel pump mount.

Popham RV Fly-in. Got back and tidied workshop.

Right fuel tank bracket, and fuel tank breather.

Fitted right flap to wing.

Jo helps with the trial wing fitting. The first wing is mated to the fuse. Tomorrow John has offered to come over and help with the alignment.

A little work on the canopy release mech..

Tony & I fitted the final wing skin today, completed in approx 2hrs.

Fitting Fuel pump and filter housing in fuse.

Building brackets to fix rollover bar to fuselage.

Rest of the parts arrived - damaged. Start work on rollbar with replacement parts.

Continued work on flap.

Continued with wing, aileron brace and drilled pitot today.

Wing, aileron hinge.

Jo helped me get the left wing down (stored in roof of workshop) to start work on it.

Fitting canopy latch.

We have finished the wing. Jo has written about working on the RV.

Jo is fantastic. She arrived in the garage today, and asked if I wanted help fitting the wing skin. Jo has never riveted so I gave her a quick lesson and then we started on the wing skin. Jo did a great job taking lots of care to ensure the job was done properly. The skin looks great. Thanks Jo.

Sprayed parts, a few more rivets in the wing skin and started fitting the fuse baggage floor.

I find a problem with the rollbar I have been working on.

Deburring rollbar.

Working on the rollbar.

Starting the canopy rollover bar, making the brackets.

Fitting angle round top of instrument panel.

Some odd jobs....

Interior.

Aileron rods & rod ends.

Pedal fitting.

Flap motor assembly, and luggage floor.

Aleix came over and helped shoot the last rivets in the seat backs and tunnel cover.

Spent the evening painting (primer), wing panel, and seats.

Built seat brace, dismantled and de-burred seats ready for primer. Dismantled brake pedals for priming.

I have decided to make the parts for the seats while I am wait for my right wing to be inspected.

Deburred rudder pedals, and reviewed parts for rudder assembly.

Waiting for inspector to visit, so started on fuse - tail wheel.

Started work on right wing skin.

Worked on aileron control road, fitting the 4-12 rivets was difficult.

Finished fitting the rivets to aileron gap fairing (W-724) that had caused so many problems yesturday. Made spacers for aileron hindge. Made aileron push rod (too short, will have to re-order). Painted aileron push rods. Also visted Machine Mart for some more tools - which were nearly all out of stock.

Fitted brackets to aileron, and trial fitted aileron to wing.

Painted aileron hinge bracket abd W-721, started riveting aileron hinge bracket together.

Constructed the aileron hinge bracket assembly.

Built jig for QB wings, put right wing in jig.

Started assembly of right elevator.

This week I have been back working on the bathroom refit, so it's only weekend RV work. Saturday today did 3hrs finishing off the elevator ribs. Replaced a few rivets not up to scratch and started to fit rear spar.

Went flying in my Cessna 150 EV to North Weald.