Started the new year by removing all of the clecos on the leading edge assembly that were already put on twice the day before. Was thinking about making a shim for the tie down through hole, but it occurred to me that I could just to drill a big enough hole for the base of the Van's standard tie down ring. Then some lock washers can be stacked to bring the tie down eye out far enough. Ended up cutting a 3/4 inch hole, which is slightly off center despite my best efforts. There's a small gap between skin and tie down ring, but this can be easily dealt with at a later date.
Was expecting the brother-in-law to come over and help with riveting the leading edge assembly to the spar. But decided I really want to get the Duckworks light install kit done before permanently attaching the leading edge. It can be done after riveting, but it would be easier off the wing, and there's really no rush. So called off the help for the day. Can't order the Duckworks parts need on New Years Day, so started stripping plastic in prep for edge deburring the right leading edge skins and the ailerons.
For the record, I'm going to use the AeroSUN 1600 parts, one on each wing tip, for taxi and landing lights. These have low current needs, no power supply required, have a built-in wigwag feature, and should last the life of the plane. A HID might produce more light, but the LEDs will be vastly superior to anything I've flown with to date. And the price is competitive with a HID solution. The lights on the rentals I'm flying are constantly INOP, so I will go with LEDS for every light I can. I'm using this Duckworks installation bracket to attach the lights. I'm sure I can fabricate the bracket, but this kit comes with the acrylic window for the wing leading edge, making it worth the price.
Wednesday December 31.
Didn't track time well, but a bit more than an hour clecoing the leading edge to the spar - only to realize that the tie down hole still needed work. So off comes all the clecos. Put it all back together, with all the clecos, and realize that the hole is big enough to screw in the tie down ring, but there's a quarter inch gap between the skin and the tie down bar. Leaving it like this would be a bad idea. It would get screwed in too much and ruin the skin. So off comes all the clecoes. Decided to buy some AL stock and fabricate some shims.
For 2008, put in about 425 hours, and set more than 4000 rivets! Finished the empennage assembly and most of the left wing main structure.
