One task I've been putting off is shimming the lower engine mounts to raise the front of the engine. This is needed because the mounts have sagged over time so the the prop is about 1/4" low. That messes up alignment of the cowling which was custom fitted before the engine was run. Took an hour or two over three days, but I finally got the hard part of this task done tonight. The extra spacers are in, the bolts are reinstalled, and cotter pins in place. Only an hour of two of work to finish the small stuff that was moved out of the way to make access easier.
I'm also going to work on the right wing tip to hopefully address the heavy left wing issue. After going through Van's hints for fixing a heavy wing, my conclusion is that the right wing tip trailing edge is out of alignment, too low. This imparts a left rolling moment. By splitting the right wing tip, removing the 916 rib, I should be able to move the trailing edge to the proper position, match drill a new 916 rib, and then epoxy the split trailing edge back together. Cross your fingers!
During the annual inspection Van's published a Service Bulletin to have all flying RV's verify the installation of two extra wing attach bolts. Apparently these are commonly forgotten. I admit worrying I would forget them during the build, but the following two photo's provide proof that I didn't, and proof of compliance with the SB.
Also, in the past couple of months, there have been two posts about cracked VS forward attach plates on RV-9's. Included in these posts was a discussion about how exactly the attach plate is supposed to be installed, in front of, or behind the VS forward spar. These photo's document the current state of Cav's forward VS attach, which is in very good health.
I did mount the VS spar behind the attach plates, but the plans allow either side, and this was the best arrangement for this particular airplane.
