Final assembly and wing mounting in process

Ready for the big airplane moving day…

Getting ready for the big move. I really thought that extricating the fuselage from the garage would be a MAJOR ordeal. Thankfully, with the great group of guys I had on hand, it wound up being anticlimactic.— with Shane Barker, Alex Cole and Dan Ruehl.

With Mark Atwood, Glenn Martin, Paul Chuchel and Shane Barker.

With Dan Ruehl, Alex Cole, Glenn Martin and Mark Atwood.

With Dan Ruehl, Paul Chuchel, Shane Barker and Glenn Martin.

With Jean Balch, Paul Chuchel, Dan Ruehl and Shane Barker.

With Shane Barker, Dan Ruehl, Jean Balch and Paul Chuchel.

Out in the sun for the first time!!

With Alex Cole and Dan Ruehl.

With Shane Barker, Glenn Martin, Alex Cole, Dan Ruehl, Paul Chuchel and Jean Balch.

With Shane Barker, Glenn Martin, Alex Cole, Dan Ruehl, Paul Chuchel and Jean Balch.

With Jean Balch.

With Jean Balch.

With Alex Cole and Dan Ruehl.

With Shane Barker, Glenn Martin, Alex Cole, Dan Ruehl, Paul Chuchel and Jean Balch.

With Shane Barker, Glenn Martin, Alex Cole, Dan Ruehl, Paul Chuchel and Jean Balch.

With Jean Balch.

With Jean Balch.

Beginning to load the plane onto the trailer. It looked a little precarious, but having such a great crew made it go smoothly.

Unloading begins…

Getting ready to mount the first wing… — with Dan Ruehl, Shane Barker, Mark Atwood and Paul Chuchel.

With Dan Ruehl, Shane Barker, Alex Cole, Mark Atwood and Paul Chuchel.

With Dan Ruehl, Shane Barkerand Glenn Martin.

With Glenn Martin.

The second wing successfully mounted. That’s the first time that both wings have been on simultaneously. It looks like a real RV now!

Everyone was glad to take a turn trying it on for size. I’m looking forward to giving rides to all of these guys! — with Mark Atwood and Dan Ruehl.

With Mark Atwood and Dan Ruehl.

With Shane Barker, Mark Atwoodand Dan Ruehl.

Most of the crew – missing only Glenn, who had to leave a bit earlier. — with Paul Chuchel, Alex Cole, Jean Balch, Shane Barker, Mark Atwood and Dan Ruehl.

Safely ensconced its hangar…

Finish progress

The last tube of “Proseal” on the project!

Rear window sealing in process…

The last little Indian…

Masking removed and it turned out OK! The few little blobs of escaped sealant will rub right off tomorrow.

Heat shield applied to lower cowling. It’s not gorgeous, but should be effective.

Lower cowling back on the airplane (for the first time in a LONG while) to measure the inlet to air ramp gaps.

My trusty assistant waits beneath… — with Jean Balch.

Clamping strips clamped to lower cowling and floxed.

Fuselage interior components ongoing

With Jean’s help this morning, I finally got the yaw damper bridle harness clamps properly adjusted and tightened onto the rudder cables. Thanks, hon!

The corrugated baggage bulkhead cover has gained its ‘Experimental’ decal and been temporarily attached. It’ll come off for the inspection, of course, before being screwed down for keeps.

Passenger-side leather interior panels and armrest installed!

Pilot-side leather interior panels and armrest installed!

Firewall forward, panel progress

With the completion of the throttle linkage today, all control cables are now properly connected and ready for flight.

Throttle cable linkage is now complete and ready for flight. Shown here in the full-throttle position.

Throttle cable linkage is now complete and ready for flight. Shown here in the closed-throttle position.

My favorite helper working on the panel’s main bus block. We got it mounted today, then fabricated its connection to the shunt, and installed/secured that wire. — with Jean Balch.

Shunt wiring is complete, including the two little signal wires.