Was working on the VS spar channels with the die grinder when it began to run slow. I took my earmuffs off and could hear air rushing out somewhere on my compressor……uh oh! Took me a while to find the problem. I took the pressure switch apart and the rubber diaphragm inside was quite perished and had a big tear in it.

I should be able to replace that quite easily (and cheaply) but guess what….it’s now 5:30pm and the compressor shop is closed until Monday. I’m going to hire another compressor after work tomorrow for the weekend so i can keep working and hopefully get some priming done. Otherwise it will be a wasted weekend. I can’t do anything without air.

No air so not a lot I can do but did get the file out and removed the shear marks from the VS and HS spars. They just need a quick tidy up with the Scotchbrite wheel and they are ready to paint.

Got my compressor back from the shop so set to work getting the HS and VS parts ready for priming. Didn’t get much done however.

Started off what was supposed to be a very productive day in the workshop by attending to a small leak in my air system. Ended the day with the air compressor in the shop for repair for a few days! This is particularly annoying as Shontelle and Alex leave for Fiji tomorrow morning and I was planning to get a whole lot done on the project while they are away including shooting some primer. Hopefully I’ll have the compressor back in a day or two.

Started the prep work on the VS parts to get them ready for painting. Shontelle and Alex are off to Fiji for a few days on Wednesday so I’m planning to get the HS and VS primed and assembled while they’re gone.

Yet another tip I saw on the internet came in handy today. To finish the edges of the VS parts I used a mini 3M Scotchbrite wheel with some grooves in it in the die grinder. Worked really well and fast. The grooves form as you work the edge using the same spot on the wheel. After a while they get too deep and start to grab so you just start a new groove. I’m going to have to order a whole lot more of those little wheels!

Also dimpled the VS ribs and spars with the pneumatic squeezer. That’s another quick job which I enjoyed.

Spent a while today setting up this blog. I knew from the start I wanted to document this project online where my friends and family could watch progress so up till now I have been just keeping notes in a word file.

One thing I am certain about is I don’t want to spend more time editing my website than actually building the airplane so once this is all set up right it should be a quick easy process to add to it. (can even do entries from my iPhone which might be handy)

This Wordpress package is great but still requires a lot of customization so expect things to change.

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