slow(ish) start to 2022

Happy New Year to my dedicated and loyal followers!

A bit of a slow start to 2022, but back in the shop for a few hours over the past few days.  I'm still waiting on the fuel lines and fittings to come from the supplier, hopefully soon as I'd like to get them test fitted before I flip the wing over in the next couple of weeks to build up and fit the fuel tank in this wing. 

While I wait for those to arrive I got the backing strips epoxied to the inside of the wing tip.  EcoBond epoxy is spread thinly on both sides and left to set up for about 5 mins:

The 016 aluminum backing strip is clamped in place and left to set up.  I leave these overnight and have no problem with them bonding well.

A test fit to the outboard wing reveals little trimming to be done.  I'll need to confirm the measurements of the other wing to see where the other wing tip positioned for final fit and make sure this one is in the same place making the wings symetrical. 

My push-connect unions came in from the supplier.  If you are familiar with SharkBite plumbing fittings these work the same way.  I'll be using these to connect up the pitot-static lines once the wing is flipped over.

Long time readers will recall the genesis of this entire project was largely credited to the mentorship of my friend Captain Barry Morris.  When he passed away suddenly in Sepember 2015, I made it my mission to get working on this project and not wait for it to just come to me (see my earliest blog posts for more).

I've been in regular contact with Barry's widow, Linda Morris since his passing and we've shared many memories, laughs and tears.  She gave me the honor of gifting me a damaged wooden propeller that belonged to Barry that he "acquired" and had cut down to a "trophy" of some sort.  I wish he was still here and could share how this prop came to be, but somewhere in his adventures it came into his possession and I will treasure it forever.

For Christmas from Brenda, I was surprised to receive a hand made clock insert for the prop.  Here is a picture of it installed.  The words scribed on the face mean a lot to me, it is in a prominent position in our kitchen where I see it every morning:

Next up in the shop are fuel tanks and today I'm working on the design of strobe/position/nav lights for the wings among other things.  Now that I have finalized the controller design, I want to test some higher power LEDs that I found on Amazon and see if I can really make the lights punch it out by boosting the voltage up.  Also pondering lens design using clear casting resin - all in with experimental right?  I'm NOT paying over $500 for what is currently offered on the market for lighting solutions.
 
​Stay tuned, more to come.