May 12th thru May 28th:

5/12:  I re-installed the tail sections, connected the rudder & elevator cables and set proper tesion with the turnbuckles. Safety wired the turnbuckles and now the tail section is permanently mounted. I wired up the elevator trim servo with "Molex" connectors, a type that allows for quick & easy disconnect should the tail sections ever have to be removed for service or inspection. 11 hrs, 901 total hrs.

Sat. & Sun., May 19th and 20th: Received the new windshield and Version 3 skylight from Zenith, along with an upholstery kit. Fitted skylight to cabin & installed new ribs that support the airfoil-shaped skylight. Fitted the new windshield to the cabin & drilled pilot holes through windshield into the cabin frame. Moved over to the wings where I had to remove the existing root ribs to be replaced with a larger size rib that fits to the new skylight shape. Got both wings done including the installation of new root skins. 17 hrs, 918 total hrs.

Sat., May 26th: My friends Danny & Ivan made a custom baffle for the lower part of the engine that cools the case and oil tank while I completed drilling and fitting work on the skylight & windshield.
7 hrs, 925 total hrs.

Sunday & Monday, May 27th & 28th:  Danny painted the pilot side wing earlier in the week. I completed all drilling out for windshield top & sides. Fitted weatherstripping up to windshield. Removed the old aluminum arch that was for the Version 1 roof. Painted the top & side trim pieces for the windshield. Re-assembled windshield & skylight, riveted both in place with soft aluminum rivets. The plans called for sheetmetal screws to hold the windshield to the cabin frame, but after many attempts the screws just were not self-tapping into the cabin frame well enough. I'm confident Zenith will end up changing this fastening system to something else, but in the meantime rivets will work just fine. Cleaned everything up and began fitting the doors to the cabin. Layed out cut lines on both doors to fit behind the windshield and riveted the door hinges to the cabin frame.  14 hrs, 944 total hrs to date.

Sunday, May 6th:  Today I re-installed all of the control linkage. I had it out for the last 3 weeks while I was riveting up the seat pans and working in the control tunnel area, and it took a good 2 hrs. to get it all back in. I ran into a problem with the wiring going from my push-to-talk buttons through the stick and to the panel. The elevator control rod was hitting the wiring harness when I had the stick full back and left. I struggled for a while to determine a fix and after a few discarded ideas I simply clamped the harness with a cable clamp held with a machine screw in a way that kept it clear of the rod and still able to have the flexiblity it needs to move with the control stick. A homebuilder spends a lot of time figuring out crap like this. The plans only take you so far, so you are constantly having to improvise. That to me is where a lot of both frustration and satisfaction occur, frustration when you identify the problem and satisfaction when you solve it.

Next I installed my seat belt attachment brackets and the seat belts. Took longer than I thought it would. Danny had painted the cowl top and had it laying in place when I got there this morning. It really looks good. I found out it will be another two weeks before I get my new windshield. That is going to slow down the progress a bit because the doors & wings can't be completed until the windshield and skyroof go on.

I can sense that I am closing in on the completion of the plane, and it feels good.

7 hrs today.