N254MR

Except for a couple of hours spent unmasking the "under windshield" paint job and cleaning up the hangar, it was a slow day today. (Can't be running around pell mell every day!) The panel and glare shield look super together, as shown below, first from the front, and then in the view that a (fairly tall) pilot will have looking forward from inside the cockpit. Although the new paint's color value is similar to that of the self-etching primer that's been used extensively throughout, the paint is much tougher and has a nicer surface, of course. Won't be long now before the windshield goes on to stay.

Spraying of the "under windshield" areas is done. It's a no gloss "eggshell" flat texture, to minimize reflective glare from exterior light, sunshine, etc. The color choice is designed to go with the dark gray panel, and make a gradual contrast transition from the panel to the brighter outdoor light. (At some point there may be a flat surface vinyl pad on top of the glare shield too.) Note the dome head solid rivets which have been placed in the windshield's fiberglass retainer's rivet holes to eliminate paint overspray from getting into the avionics below. The paint will take a day to cure before the outlines can be unmasked, but I will begin unmasking the rest of the plane in another hour or so when the paint is tack free and no longer vulnerable to dust. Best of all, this paint job is one more item I can check off the task list.

A couple of grueling days getting the windshield area ready for painting. First came a redo of the left side windshield retainer (don't ask), and quite a bit of reshaping of the windshield itself. Seems the big acrylic bulb likes to change shape. Then about six hours of detail work just masking in close around the two areas to be painted. The photo below shows some of that detail, including a thin line of blue tape on top of the existing avionics panel overlays (!), plastic wrap around the two cable bundles, Click Bond nutplates curing, masking the defrost vents, etc. More detail work was done from the inside, and yes, the entire panel is well covered.

Then this afternoon and evening, the entire plane got wrapped in masking paper and light film plastic, including the gear legs, struts, antennas, engine and prop, etc. All this had to be done just to paint the glare shield (top of dash) and the little area of cabin roof that will be under the windshield -- all together just a measly 8 sq. ft. or so. Because these two areas will either A) get a lot of use (dash) or B) never really be accessible again (roof), the paint will be some serious PPG epoxy -- material that is not supposed to and won't come off easily -- so it's better to be safe than sorry with the rest of the plane at this point. Nearby parts and equipment will also be covered and, of course, various manuevers will be done to assure proper ventilation. On the bright side, at least this "little" paint job is a separate check off item on the list of tasks remaining. 

A lot more work on the windshield in the last couple of days, including side retainers and prep for painting the glare shield and cabin roof under the windshield. The first photo shows the windshield's left side retainer being fitted. Ideally, the front edge of the retainer should be even with the slanting metal edge inside. The end of the fiberglass retainer still needs to be trimmed to match the rear edge of the side retainer. After the side retainers were done, the windshield was liberated from all the tape that's been holding it down for more than a month, and removed.

The second photo shows prep of the cabin roof section that will be under the windshield for painting The prep procedure takes a lot of elbow grease, first using Scotchbrite to clean up the surfaces, including cleanning tightly around each rivet, then blowing the dust out of all the rivet mandrels, etc., with compressed air, and finally cleanup with acetone. Then the top retainer was put in place, a large Sharpie was used to mark the rear edge, and masking tape was applied to just cover the ink line. By painting up to that line, there should be "perfect" paint coverage under, but not beyond the retainer. Similar technique is used to mark the other edges.

The third photo shows the glare shield (dash, in auto terms) prep done. Here the front fiberglass retainer is temporarily back in place so that its front edge can be marked. The black mark line is just visible in the bottom center of the photo, along the outer edge. The glare shield will be painted up to that line. Shooting for paint job on Monday, and might make it.

The windshield's top retainer is ready. The photo shows drilling in progress. The holes go down through the center of the forward bulkhead flange, where the retainer will be secured by #8 machine screws into Click Bond nutplates.

It's true progress has slowed a bit in the last week, but things have been happening. The AOA pressure ports are done, and wing tips all back on to stay. I hope. The windshield retainer is very close to its final shape, as is the trim work to the cowl top "beam" piece that butts up against the retainer. Today, I finally finished getting the AeroCarb #2 needle swapped out for the #3 needle I think will be more appropriate for initial carb tuning here near sea level. That required removing the air filter and hose, etc., for sighting of the initial needle position. Progress is slow, as ever, and not amenable to photos recently -- but happening.

Time to get serious about finishing the fiberglass windshield retainer. The first photo shows the first rough cut along the top and bottom edges with the Dremel metal cutter wheel, which goes through the fiberglass very fast. Too fast. (At this point all work on the retainer is nerve wracking -- because it would be very difficult to build another one at all, much less to fit the existing rivet hole pattern already drilled in the top of the fuselage.) All the retainer's rivet holes have been cleared out by back drilling through the filler from the backside using special plexiglass/plastic drill bits. The edge lines need to be cut and sanded down quite a bit more -- the whole thing will be narrower when done -- but the second photo shows an interim test fit back on the plane, and it's starting to look very nice indeed.

Due to a ridiculous wiring error many, many months ago, I had to take the right wing tip off again. I had planned to put off installing the AFS angle of attack (AOA) system's pressure ports until after the plane is flying, but... it was such a PITA to take the tip off (45 screws, remember) that I decided to go ahead and install the AOA pressure ports now. The rather artsy photo shows the top and bottom Delrin pressure port fittings installed. They are each attached by two stainless, countersunk, 4-40 machine screws, and the surfaces mating with the wing skin are sealed with Permatex. The top wing port's 1/8" O.D. blue polyurethane tube is attached. The green tube will go to the bottom port and of course, the tubes will be further secured so they won't flop around. The top port assembly also serves as an air/water separator, to dispel any small amounts of water that may get into the top port. Thus the top port, which is 3" further inboard than the bottom port, will have a drain out the bottom of the wing. The ports themselves are teeny holes through the wing skin made with a #60 drill bit -- so small they're hard to see, a very fine pinhole. So long as we avoid pressure washing the wing in that location, very little water will ever get in. Even so, draining the AOA water separator will be on the checklist for every preflight inspection.

A well worn but still worthy aphorism for the day:

Truly superior pilots are those who use their superior judgment to avoid those situations in which they might have to use their superior skills.

OK, get back to work.