Completion Approaches??

Well, nearly one month ago the prediction was that the airplane would be ready to fly by the end of the month. Here we are March 26, and the shop still thinks it will be ready for a first flight on April 4. Probably better than April 1...

The last items are arriving. We now have state-of-the-art Electroluminescent panels for lighting the switches and circuit breakers. A long, arduous path, but I hope well worth it.


The photo doesn't show the panel at it's best, but this is the only photo I have so far. The mechanics are hard at work, including weekends, and I am eager to visit next month. With luck, I may bring the airplane home.

Then the commissioning starts. This complex a project will require a detailed test procedure, something I am developing now. Every function needs to be tested and verified before the airplane goes in for painting and interior. I still hope that it will be ready for the EAA fly-in at Oshkosh this July.

Status March 2, 2009

Well, things continue to move slowly along. The wiring harness is nearly complete and should be tested this week. As the photos show, the AuRACLE engine monitor from Xerion has been installed, and the backup Horizon with related vacuum gauge is also mounted. By the end of this week, the wiring harness should be installed in the airplane.



Part of the challenge at this point in the project is making sure that every wire is properly terminated. The old wiring is being replaced throughout the airplane, and unfortunately the original identification on the wires has long ago been lost. This means that this is a two-person job, with each wire being identified and tagged before moving to the next task.