Starting Cowl

I'm starting the cowl. Here, I'm leveling the upper cowl.

Engine Mount Bolts With Uncle Thomas

My Aunt Lois and Uncle Thomas came to visit this weekend and Uncle Thomas helped me torque the engine mount bolts. He was a big help as you can see from the photo they were not easy to reach. I've got the easy job on the outside with the torque wrench. We joked that that was how he paid for the delicious homemade lasagna Paula served for lunch.

Emerging from the depths of the cockpit.

The three airplane amigos.

Wingtip Light Cover

Working on the wingtip lights. I made a polished aluminum backing plate.

I polished it with a rouge wheel I got from Lowe's. About $9 for the wheel and the polish stick.

Here's the work-in-progress for the Plexiglas light cover. I finished all the brackets and fittings and wiring for the lights and strobes and installed and tested them but didn't get a photo before I took everything back apart.

Installing the Archer VOR/ILS Antenna

I've got the Archer VOR/ILS navigation antenna match drilled to the left wingtip. It's the 8th and final antenna for the airplane. Here are Wikipedia links to VOR and ILS navigation. The information the antenna receives will go to the Garmin 430W to be use for navigation. VOR systems (VHF Omni Directional Radio Range) are still active but are being made obsolete by GPS. The ILS system will probably remain in use longer but they're also being replaced by GPS. ILS (Instrument Landing System) requires transmitters at every airport that must be calibrated and maintained whereas the GPS approaches don't. The other 7 antennas in the airplane are 2 Com, 2 Gps, Transponder, ADS-B and ELT.

Finishing Wingtips

I finished the right wingtip and will finish the left in a day or so. I made them removable as they'll have lights and one antenna. Here's a close-up of the #6 screws that hold them on. There are about 25 per side. The rivets with the red line attach the rib in the trailing edge of the wingtip.