Still daylight left

So, after installing the landing gear and fitting one side with fairings, I decided to paint the storage compartment. Actually I had already primed the surface such that it was ready to go today. What I was really waiting for was a day when the humidity was below 112%. Today would be the day, only 92% humidity - yippee. If you look close you will see some shadow spots - not too worry it's still wet. I had painted the tunnel prior to today and just placed it in there to cover the flap motor and elevator controls. No, this is not your father's 57 Chevy, but it's the same trunk paint.

Landing Gear in 6 months and 1 day

The long awaited upper gear supports finally arrived. I was ready to call out the national guard to see if they were being made by church mice. So after six months of waiting for this simple three piece component, I installed them in one day with plenty of time leftover to begin fitting the wheel and leg fairings. It is very encouraging to have your plane standing on its own two feet.

Its one color - sort of...

Today I hurdled two milestones. First the fuselage is now covered in a single coat of primer. After much bodywork and god knows how much sanding, this is the precursor to the final coat. You will also notice the rotisserie is not longer under foot. It's time to go and where better than to a fellow builder in South Africa. I am happy to see this very useful piece move to the next person who needs it. Perhaps we can start a trend to pass it around the world to more Legacy builders. Lancair is still dogging me on the landing gear parts. Their rotten vendor has indicated they are in the paint shop. Hopefully for his sake, thats where they are.

Layers of time

What you see on the left is not just simple body work. Looks that way doesn't it? Keep in mind that micro does not do well when clinging vertically. The micro around the canopy perimeter represents 8-10 layers of wetting, waiting, sanding and re-working micro fill. The micro closes a gap between the canopy and the body caused by imperfections in the manufacturing process. Note that following the curvature of this body is like keeping up with a dancer doing the rumba. You'll have your work cut out for you if this happens to you. Keep in mind I paid $4000.00 for this gap. No, correction - I paid $4000.00 for the canopy construction; the gap and 4 weeks of evening body work were free. Thank god for micro. Some advice for finishing. Start with a very good filler primer. I have bought Dupont's urethane filler primer which worked wonders on this body. As mentioned earlier, Lancair's peripheral parts are a disaster of pinholes, bubbles and cracks - all the while they pass by old inspector #12.

Time to lose - spare parts

Waiting for BO parts is like watching water boil, but less exciting. Meanwhile I continue to patch, smooth and body work the most awful collection of manufactured peripherals I have ever seen. Ok, these are the first I've ever seen, but I'm here to tell you they are full of pinholes, bubbles, cracks and small imperfections. The only option has been to smear micro and body filler over every inch of their surface. To minimize build up, I have taken the approach of applying thin layers and re-working each layer down to the holes again. After working with a well manufactured fuselage, these small parts are frustrating at best. Perhaps this is Lancair's idea of a bad joke or to justify the 51% rule. The good news is that without leg supports these are just spare parts. No worries, I need the practice.

Held hostage by Lancair vendor

Notice anything missing here? The aft portion of this leg support has been on backorder from Lancair for six months (at least). I can't figure out if we are dealing with a dead beat vendor or someone is telling lies. I suspect a bit of both. No one will admit it, but Lancair and Columbia share a lot more than looks when it comes to these parts. They will lie and say nothing is the same, but we all know better - at least we know the stuff is coming from the same vendor. I'm guessing Columbia has one up on priority over Lancair for stuff like this. The problem is this one part is keeping me from attaching my landing gear, hanging my wheel pants, leg covers, brake lines, fuel lines etc, etc. My fuselage is a prisoner of the rotisserie at the moment. Lancair has promised 7/11/07 for a delivery date (LOL). If Lancair failed to deliver this one part, my whole project would be in jeopardy as this would require re-engineering and the manufacture of a new part. That could take years. Life in the big leagues.