Today I spent some time at the hanger
finishing the repairs on the wing. I was
able to sand out all of the body filler patches made yesterday. I also made a trip to Lowe's and purchased
some 8/32x3/4" stainless steel flat head screws for the PVC fairing on the
vertical stab. The 5/8" screws are
just a little short so the longer screws work really well. I used some 220 grit sand paper and sanded
all of the filled areas from yesterday.
After doing the sanding I needed to so some additional filing on the
stabilator trailing edge. I mixed some
body filler and applied it to the low spot from yesterday. While it was setting up I drove to Lowe's and
purchased the screws. Upon my return I
sanded the stabilator patch. I then used
some 400 grit paper and resanded all of the patches. They are in pretty good shape for
painting. I used a cloth and cleaned up
all of the sanding dust and wiped off the surfaces.
After taking care of the sanding mess I
reinstalled the flaperon on the right wing.
I need to turn the right wing around on the wing rack and push it back
into the corner of the hangar.
As I was installing the flaperon I had a
visitor drop by. This fellow is an
instructor at the Salt Lake Community College in the Aviation Maintenance
Program. He was very interested in the
airplane and wanted to know all about it.
He said one of his assignments given to his students is an effort where
they have to contact the many kit manufacturers and do some research on the
kits they offer. The students are
supposed to pick a kit and then write a report telling all about it. He said many of the students write up Van's
RV's. This is the first time he has seen
an RV-12. He was very impressed. He
asked if I would be willing to speak to his classes this fall and tell my
experience in selecting and
building my own airplane. I told him I would be happy to. He said he will come and see me again. My next project is to install the rear window
and then the trim tab on the rudder.
