aviator79's build

[David47]

Yes, those curves in the tail feathers can be tricky. I used 3”bias tape and it seemed to work ok. Biggest issue was the intersection between the spar tube and the tip fairing. Looking good Brian.

[aviator79]

No pictures of the build from this week. I got all the rudder tapes applied. I'm currently prepping the tail feathers for spraying.

I flew my wife to a trail race at Zion. So while I don't have build pictures, I thought you might enjoy these instead:

Shiprock, NM




Monument Valley, AZ/UT


Lake Powell, AZ


Grand Canyon

[DesertFox4]

Love the photos Brian. I need to fly Monument Valley one of these days. Some great old western movies shot there.

[efwd]

Those are cool pics. Was the route over the canyon a painful endeavor or was it not bad?
Im in on that trip Steve, just let me know when. Of course we have work to complete first.
Eddie

[aviator79]

The route over the canyon is a piece of cake. Just study the chart a little bit. The corridors/altitudes are a bit restrictive, but you still get some great views. We just did the Dragon and Zuni Point Corridors. If we had more time and smoother air, it might have been fun to fly all of them, but I don't feel like we missed out on much.

If you guys do plan that trip and my plane is done, I'll join you. It would have been nice to take in the views from the panoramic cockpit of a Kitfox instead of through the cloudy 40 year old windows of the club Cardinal. I saw plenty of fun places that it would have been fun to explore more. It would be neat to organize a multi-day tour of the broader area. There are so many beautiful landmarks within a few hours of each other.

[GMKman]

Count me in on that trip too Steve. Been to Page in my old Glastar taildragger but not any further North than that.

[littlecricket]

Flew to Bar 10 last week, that would be a fun overnight on your trip... on the northern edge of the ditch.

[Clark in AZ]

Nice Brian! Thanks for those. The build looks great.


Clark

[aviator79]

Tail feathers basically done. I sprayed a coat of white Poly Tone on to ensure color consistency of the top coat. I'm letting the solvents evaporate for a few days before putting on the top coat (Aero-thane). On the wings I stopped after Poly Spray. My thinking was that because paint continues to cure over its lifetime, there might be a color mismatch if I'd painted them several months before everything else. In hindsight, I wish I'd just finished them off while I had them on the rotisserie. I doubt there would be any noticeable color difference, especially since they are not being subject to any UV or other environmental stress.

Progress over the next few weeks will be slower than average. It's my son's baseball season, so I have a lot of practices and games to attend, and I have a bunch of work travel in June (LA and Philly).

[efwd]

I'm close to LA Brian. If you have down time with nothing better to do give me a PM.
Eddie