Rigging the tailwheel is simply a matter of adjusting the rod ends. Since the VS is canted left slightly (to help counteract various forces), the rudder sits to the right of centerline when aligned with the VS. I went around and around on this in my mind, trying to decide if I want the tailwheel in trail when the rudder is in trail with the VS, or whether I want the tailwheel aligned with the rudder. In the end I decided that I would rig it so the tailwheel is in trail (aligned with the aircraft centerline) when the rudder is aligned with the VS. That way, pedals-centered will give me the default VS offset carried through the rudder position, but the tailwheel will theoretically track straight. We'll see. It's easy enough to change later.
Yesterday I masked the wing skins and filled the leading edge of the wing tips since they weren't perfectly flush with the skin.
I also filled over the rivet heads on the tip rib. I'm going to fill the rib with foam and filler to clean it up a bit. I'm also going to lay 1.45oz cloth over the rivet heads to hide them completely.
I installed the combo position/strobe light fixtures on the wing tips. Gotta make the lenses one of these days...
Today I installed the wing walk on both wings. This is the Ray Allen wing walk that Van's carries. It has the "RV-7" text pre-cut for you.
I installed it about 1/16" outboard of the wing root fairing edge...
...and about 1/16" away from the tank skin. As you can see I trimmed it diagonally in the front inboard corner to accommodate the wing root fairing.
I also cut a radius on each of the other corners to prevent lifting. I used a dixie cup to trace a nice radius on the backing strip and just cut it with a scissors.
Applying the wing walk was easy, just be careful -- it immediately and seemingly permanently sticks to everything it touches! Before applying it I scuffed the aluminum with Scotch Brite and cleaned it with lacquer thinner.
Today I also played around with various wing tip COM antenna installation methods. I need to get in touch with Bob Archer to see what he thinks before going forward.