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.
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