33 - Rudder & Brake Systems (completed); 34 - Flap Actuation System (completed); 54 - Flap Position Sensor (completed); 35 - Upper Fwd Fuselage (started)

Lots accomplished during the past days, including finishing 3 sections and starting the Upper Fwd Fuselage section - i.e., the section that eventually will get most of the avionics!  This post also contains step-by-step instructions on how to attach 4 extremely difficult to reach adel clamps that attach the rudder cable guides, which have stymied more than a few builders.  Specifically, the following were accomplished since the last post:

- drilled pedal bearing blocks; attached rudder pedals to fuselage; attached brake fluid reservoir (bolts and Proseal); attached Aircraft Specialty brake lines to pedals and gear brace (waiting for proseal to cure before installing last two lines on brake fluid reservoir); started two adel clamps that secure the rudder cable tubing
- finished installing all 4 adel clamps to secure rudder cable tubing; separated, deburred, primed, and painted rudder cable links; riveted cable guides to tunnel sides
- Finished attaching the brake lines
- Drilled flap torque arms; connected torque arms and flap crank to fuselage, and bolted (final torqued)
- installed flap actuator; safety-wired and tested actuator (9V batt)
- Installed the flap position sensor, including micro-molex pins in the corresponding connector shell
- Assembled left and right forward rib assemblies and hinge rib assemblies; trimmed sub-panel (including area for center stack); riveted channel assembly

Installed rudder/brake assembly:

32 - Baggage Area (completed AND painted interior); 33 - Rudder & Brake Systems (assembled brakes, rudders)

Finished the baggage area AND painted the interior of the fuselage - what a major step; extremely motivational.  Also started the rudder and brake section.  Specifically, the following were accomplished this week:

- deburred edges of baggage floors; drilled holes for lemo (Bose) plugs; updrilled two holes from 3/8” to 7/16” for mic jacks; dimpled both baggage floors
- riveted nutplates to baggage floors; installed and started riveting both baggage floors to fuselage substructure; clecoed most remaining nutplates to floor and substructure; finishing running rudder cables to forward center console
- finished riveting baggage floors; installed baggage floor splice; installed flap motor channel; installed flap motor brackets; broke edges of baggage side covers
- finished baggage area by riveting side panels; started scuffing interior (for paint); up-sized hole in forward overhang for brake lines pass-through between left/right sides
- finished scuffing with scotchbrite, 2 acetone wipe-downs, 1 SEM Prep wipe-down, 2 light coats of SEM gray primer, 3 top coats of Cardinal Paint light gunmetal gray GR10-4A05 semi-gloss  - interior has been painted!
- separated parts for brake pedal assembly, deburred, and clecoed brake pedal assemblies together; final-drilled #12 holes.  I decided not to paint the pedals - they look great as-is, and the paint will scuff off in the first few hours.
- Assembled brake pedals, bolted the pedals to the rudders, attached the brake cylinders, and clocked the AN fittings on the brake cylinders

Clecoed the baggage floors in place:

30 - Aft Fuse Attachment (finished The Big Join); 31 - Fuel System (completed); 55 - Common Fuse Harness (installed); 32 - Baggage Area (flap bushings; seat hinges)

I worked on 4 different sections since the last post, with lots accomplished including finishing the fuel system and installing the common fuselage wiring harness.  The latter was a challenge - snap bushings barely fit around some of the wiring bundles; but, they do indeed fit.  SteinAir did a great job with the harness - order through them and not Van's and you'll save a few hundred bucks.  In other news, I ordered the Finishing Kit from Van's, and will be ordering the Engine/Prop from Van's very soon.  I'll also be deciding on the avionics panel, and will work with SteinAir to have their very capable team assemble something that I wouldn't dream of touching on my first build (I haven't ruled out a second project ... but, after helping me rivet the two halves of the fuselage together, my wife might have).  The following were accomplished during the past 9 days:

- finished riveting all rivets in this section.  The Big Join is complete, thanks largely to my wife!
- fuel system installed, aside from tightening the forward-most AN fitting, since the fitting gets in the way of exhaust installation
- started installing the right side of the Common Fuselage Harness; what a tight fit! Van’s couldn’t have made the holes a LITTLE bigger??  Also, the quick-connectors for the control sticks DON’T fit through the holes - I had to enlarge the holes (almost impossible to get to one of them) and shave the edges off of the rectangular connector
- finished installing both common fuselage harnesses (found a better way to up-size the three control stick wire holes on the left); also, ran the transponder/ADS-B cable, ELT cable and static line forward
- ran rudder cables as far as could go forward; redid a couple harness snap bushings; trimmed and installed outboard and inboard flap bushings; fabricated and match-drilled seatback hinges

(The pictures below are out of order, but all were taken since the last post)

Fuel system installed, thanks largely to the fuel lines supplied by Aircraft Specialty - quality products at a reasonable price: