Joshua's RV-9A Project

Can’t believe that it’s been nearly a month since last progress on the project.  But, lots going on.  Mom came to visit at the beginning of the month, then I had job a job interview, and was offered the job, so I had a week to finish up some “loose-end” type projects around the house.  The last couple weeks have been settling into the new job, and finishing up some audio projects leftover from before the summer.  I also had to rebuild my DAW (audio editing workstation) after its power supply died and took out the motherboard in the process.

Now things are slowing down, as the summer closes and life begins to return to a more predictable rhythm.  The other news, and more inline with the theme of this site, is that I passed my PPL checkride on August 25–exactly 1 year and 6 months after my first flight lesson.  Total time pre-checkride was 48 hours.  I completed the oral exam and preflight about a week earlier, but we rescheduled the flying portion due to crummy weather…not unflyable, but not what I wanted for the test.  Saturday morning ended up being gorgeous–clear blue sky, cool air, and smooth.  Passed with 1.3 hours on the Hobbs…pictures to come later.

Anyway…today’s progress!  With Allison out of town visiting relatives in Duluth over the holiday weekend (I’m staying here because it’s the first weekend for students on campus, which means events that need audio support), I got a chance to dig back into the project.  Cranked up the compressor, turned on the radio, and went to town.  The right elevator is drilled, deburred, and dimpled, ready for etching and priming.  I had originally planned to bring both elevators to this point before continuing, but I’m thinking I might go ahead with this one first.  Mainly because there’s nothing to do after the emp kit is complete…wings are but a dream at the moment, due to our financial situation from 4 months of out-of-work, doctor bills, and lack of income.  This should start to turn around in January, though, when Allison finally turns into a certified teacher and hopefully gets paid to do it.  So, with any luck, plus the 2-month factory lead time, wings might be a project for next winter.  My fingers are crossed.  There’s been a couple 9A wing and/or fuse kits for sale lately, too…maybe the stars will align and I could pick up something secondhand eventually, and save some dough.

Until then, it’s progress as normal.  Hoping that it will be more regular progress.  No pictures of today’s work, as Allison took the camera to Duluth for more pictures of the well-photographed baby.  Oi.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 31st, 2007 at 11:37 pm and is filed under Elevators. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.