Back to work--new paint, old tricks!

Hello all!

Yesterday was a productive workday that made us feel as if we hadn't left the factory at all.  When we arrived at Glasair, all the airplane parts were there except the fuselage, which we picked up around 10 o'clock from the painter.  Then we started putting everything back in its place!  Here are some of the things we worked on:

Before we went over to get the fuselage, we put anti-chafe tape all along the flap tracks on the wings.  This tape prevents paint-to-paint contact between the flaps and wing coves.  You can't see the placement well in this picture but it goes right on the trailing edge of the wing.

Over at the paint shop, we saw the final pieces Jeff is prepping for us.  This is our left wingtip.  It has just been clearcoated and is ready for polish.

Here is our cargo pod!  It is fairly spacious with about a 1' tall, 2.5' wide door.  It will hold up to 250 pounds, and attaches to the bottom of the fuselage with 24 screws.

The fuselage was outside in the fairly standard Seattle area weather.  I missed a picture of it, but Ben Rauk (our build team lead from Glasair) towed it across the airfield with a Toyota 4-Runner.

We spent a good portion of our day taping the windows up for sealing.  The windows have to be taped on both sides for the final seal, and we're looking for less than 1/32" error all the way around.  The straight parts are easy, but the curves take awhile.

Here is a shot of the right-side door with a finished 'swipe' of silicone--we've just pulled all the tape off it.  The windshield has finished tape and is ready to swipe tomorrow morning.

We also did an oil change and put the prop spinner on.

Later in the day, Jeff came over to put out tail numbers on.  They are a high-quality vinyl which should last the life of the airplane.

It's official!

The only major flight control surface to go on today was the horizontal stabilizer (pictured) and elevator (not pictured).  Tomorrow--wings, wheel pants, & fairings!  We also have a ton of interior work to do to put the guts of the plane back together.  Can't wait--we should be flying--weather permitting--by Wednesday!