Today I did a lot of things to get ready for
the first flight at KTVY. I started by
cutting a notch in the lock arm and installing the angle on the canopy rail. I also took the reinforcing plate that came
with the lock and modified it to work on the RV-12. I cut the ears off the plate so it could work
as a backing plate and reinforcement for the fuselage skin. I took the angle home last night and primed
it and painted it. It is now installed
and the lock is complete. After
completing the lock I ground down the edges of the end of a Boing can opener I
got during the EAA Chapter 23 visit to the EAA facility in Salt Lake. With the corners ground down and or coped I
can now use it to open the fuel tank cap.
I installed the tail cone and the vertical
stab fairings. I had to replace one of
the nut plates for the vertical stab fairing, but it all worked out for the
best. I also had to trim the stab trim
on the left side of the tail cone. I don’t
know why there was a problem this time but there was.
While working on the empennage I decided to
install the stabilator tips. I clecoed
and riveted the mounting plates to the ends of the stabilator. By squeezing the timmerman nuts I was able to
get them to stay in place while I put the tips in place. It took a little work but I was able to get
the tips on and I think they add a lot to the appearance of the airplane.
I decided to install all of the interior
inspection plates. That took quite a
while. There must be a bazillion screws
holding the plate in.
Before installing
the rear baggage area bulk-head I decided to put some rigid foam fillers in the
corrugations. I cut them out of some
rigid foam that fell out the hangar upper walls.
I attached the gap fillers with some clear
silicone sealant.
Next I installed the
Kroger shade on the inside of the canopy.
The last thing I did today was some more touch up. I touched up the tan color in several places
along with some more white and some more red.
It is looking better every day.
