I think it was probably fate that I was tied down diagonally behind the next plane I'm gonna build. It gave me a chance to really look it over without having to talk to anybody (it was still really early).
I thought this was a neat way to lock control surfaces without having to do something complicated.
Rudder lock...I don't technically need one since my rudder locks to the tailwheel.
Here's a pretty cool setup for a control lock on a Velocity.
And this might be my 3rd homebuilt. I've always wanted to build one of these. Rotorway Exec.
I took off around 5 or 5:30 or so and headed for home. I didn't want to endure another day of sun and dust and dehydration. 24 hours was plenty for me.
Salton Sea off to the left as I approached the Palm Springs area.
One more shot of the Salton Sea before it got dark.
The engine ran a little rougher than usual. Maybe it was because I left that prop card on there on the flight home? Kidding...
Las Cruces is next weekend...I've got this Digitrak autopilot just sitting here, and it's been here for over a week already. This is not like me, waiting to dive into a project when I have all the parts. But I didn't want to miss Las Cruces because the plane was down for an autopilot installation. Screw it. I can get it done this week. I was gonna head home and rest tonight and start tomorrow, but screw that as well. I can at least get all the cover panels off tonight...I hope. Here's the wing root area with the fairing removed for the first time since final assembly. Everything looks as good as new in there.
Obviously no fuel leaks, but I got out the inspection mirror to get a good close look all around the root rib just to make sure.
Got the left wing inspection panels off, everything looked kosher in there.
I had dreaded this part -- removing all the interior panels. It wasn't that bad, but it took some time and physical contortion in spots. I had worried how the carpet would come up with that double-sided carpet tape stuff, but it wasn't a problem.
If you do what I did and use 3/4" foam along the floor, it's a pain in the ass to remove & replace the screws that secure the center cabin cover here. What I think I might do next time is just chop the flanges off the center cabin cover, and instead rivet some .032" angle to the floor stiffeners, and then have upward-facing nutplates so the cabin cover just screws straight down into the angle. That way there won't be any of these side-oriented screws to deal with.
Here's the area where I need to run the servo wires out into the wing. Everybody asks about the under-the-floor installation, and that's what TruTrak recommends for the RV-6 and older models. But for the -7, they provide a really simple install kit for the wing. You'll see. And why bother allowing the possibility for pitch bump? Wing it is.
Here's that infamous wing root area, where people struggle to figure out where and how to run their pitot tubing and wiring. 20:20 hindsight, that's for shit sure. My next plane will be so much more straightforward to build having had this experience.
Well, I got all the inspection and cover panels off. It took over two hours, believe it or not. Now I'm wiped so I'm heading home. Will pick up where I left off tomorrow.