Still waiting for a special order of large head rivets to install the windshield retainer. I did pull the protective film off today, however, and was relieved to find it came off easily and cleanly. A number of builders who have had their windshields sitting around for so long (14+ years for this one) have found getting the stuff off is not easy. Anyway, it's sitting here, guarded by the orange safety cones, so I'm less likely to kick it by accident. It's beautiful, and so clear that I took a picture of it and, were it not for a few reflections, it would hardly be visible. (Those are loose fibers and dust, not scratches, on the near edge.)

In the meantime, I've finally started digging into the punch list of final items to resolve under the panel. The remaining 4-5 issues are small and not critical to operations, but I want to fix up details nonetheless. It's daunting to get under there again, staring up at the more-or-less organized forest of wires. Overwhelming to remember what it took to get them there, but I can't put off tying up these few loose ends any longer. I'm hoping that pulling and tweaking a few things here and there won't be nearly as arduous as it was to design and build the whole thing in the first place. It'll be good to have the last little things done, so I can reinstall the rudder & brake pedals and finish those systems. After that... engine start. Oh yeah.