panel

The panel has been cut, the nameplates ordered, the compass deleted and GPS added. The panel is starting to take shape!

 Once we had an idea what was going into the panel (we thought) and where the components were going, I took the panel to Calais to the engraving shop where we designed nameplates for all of the switches and controls. Also ordered was a “N142JD” nameplate. The 14th day of the 2nd month Jean & David were married, hence 142JD!

A vertical card compass had been back-ordered but we received notification that it could be 6 weeks to a year to receive it, so I looked for an alternative and found a GPS that will fit the space for not too much more money. It has much more navigation information, more that we had anticipated!

Jean is trial fitting the nose cone, we just might wear it out putting it on and off so many times. Everything has to fit, all the wires, cables, levers, etc. so we try the nosecone before and after each component is installed.

more

More parts put on, more planning done. It seems like about a 6:1 ratio, 6 minutes of thinking to accomplish 1 minute of work. 

The battery box is all made and battery installed, just sitting there waiting for something to power up.

The heater ducting is installed, now to get an engine to hook to the piping. You might sense the fact that I am still waiting for parts and you wouldn’t be to far off track. Actually the engine, propeller, starter package is all that is missing, but some of the parts that I do have to install are dependent on receiving the engine. It is in the works, just how long nobody knows. “Back-ordered” is how it is commonly known, and that word should have daggers sticking out of it for all the pain it causes.

The panel is taking shape and when that is done, fitting the nose cone is the next big project. Onward and upward.

On a happier note, my brother came to Princeton to let me fly his airplane yesterday! A nicer brother I could not have. 

contemplating battery placement

The battery has been installed, the wires roughed out to the battery box, and wires are getting more organized by the day.

The connectors have been put on the wires that go to the wings, ready for the day when the wings are covered, painted and installed. Will that day ever come? Will the airplane ever fly? These things have fluttered through my mind as we are slowly but surely building.

The weather outside is frightfully cold, 7 degrees as I write this, and there is a lot of snow on the ground. Christmas is in a few weeks. This has not kept us thinking of spring and weather warm enough to cover wings and fuselage. It will arrive, it will arrive, it will arrive! And we will be ready!