Demo Build

Completed riveting the aft bottom skins from station 150 to tail. 312 rivets total — had one set that needed drilling out and re-driving. All shop heads within spec. Finished the session by priming the interior before closing up permanently.

Installed and riveted the forward bulkhead assembly (F-706). All AN470AD4-5 rivets driven with no driven-head defects. Checked squareness against reference lines — within 1/32". Also installed nutplates for firewall attachment bolts.

Completed joining the left and right fuselage side skins at the keel center section. Used approximately 80 clecos for alignment before final drilling. All holes match-drilled to #30, deburred, and ready for dimpling. The fit is excellent with no gaps along the keel line. Torqued all temporary bolts per the plans spec.

Fitted and match-drilled the three leading edge skin sections on the right wing. All holes #40 pilot drilled, then opened to final #30 size. Edges rounded with a file and scotchbrite. The inboard skin required a small adjustment shim at the root — documented with photos.

Installed all 12 wing ribs on the left wing, working from root to tip. Clecoed each in position, verified alignment with a laser level, then match-drilled. Completed 8 of 12 ribs today — the last 4 tip ribs will be done next session when I can get help positioning.

Deburred all holes in the left wing main spar caps and web. Applied two coats of Akzo epoxy primer to the interior surfaces. Allowed to cure 24 hours per manufacturer spec. Spar is ready for rib installation.

Mounted the Garmin G3X avionics tray and completed the initial wiring for the GDU 460 display. Pinned the D-sub connectors for the ADAHRS and engine monitoring wires. CAN bus terminated with proper 120-ohm termination resistors at each end. System powered up successfully — display shows startup screen.

Ran the main power bus from the battery contactor to the firewall feedthrough. Used 2 AWG welding cable for the main bus run. All connections made with ring terminals, torqued to 25 in-lb and covered with self-amalgamating tape. Ground strap from engine mount to firewall torqued to 35 in-lb.

Major milestone — engine is on the airframe! Used a hoist and a helper. All four mount isolators installed in the correct orientation (soft side toward the mount). Prop flange torque checked. Throttle and mixture cable routing planned for next session. Took about 3 hours total including safety.

Fitted the Vetterman exhaust-compatible engine mount to the firewall. All 4 through-bolts installed with AN960-716 washers and elastic stop nuts. Torqued to 160 in-lb per the mount manufacturer spec. Verified clearance from all four sides — minimum 1.5" on all surfaces. Ready for engine installation.

Fitted both main gear legs into the fuselage gear tower. Had to elongate the right-side aft hole by about 0.015" to achieve correct alignment. Both legs torqued to spec. Wheel pants mounting brackets installed at correct cant angle per the plans.