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I had visions of being close to being able to rivet the upper forward skin on. But, I sat down and took a close look at the forward fuselage and realized that there are many things left to do that will be easier if that skin is not on. So, I'll hold off riveting that skin until I have finished the following:

This week I messed around with the compass lighting. There is some sort of intermittent connection at the light fixture, so it only works if I fiddle with it. I could't get it sorted out, so I decided I can live without a light in the compass. The flood lights provide some light over there, and I've got a slaved compass heading in the EFIS, so I really won't need to check the magnetic compass too often.

I also spent a fair bit of spare time working on the Pilot's Operating Handbook for the aircraft. I started with a nice one that an RV-8A builder had done, but there is quite a bit of editting to do to make it match my aircraft and my way of thinking.

I looked at the list of stuff to do before riveting that skin, and decided to make a g-meter mount. It took a bit of head scratching to come up with a design, and then a fair bit of time to get it actually made. But I turned out great. It felt good to be bashing metal again. That is the part of the project that I enjoy the most. I need to decide what colour to paint it, then rivet the two diagonal arms on. It sits right in the middle of glareshield, with the centre of gravity of the g-meter located right on top of the instrument panel, so it won't want to lean either fore or aft when I pull g.



I sit high enough that the g-meter won't block any of the forward view. The spinner will still be visible above the g-meter.



The top of the glareshield is a bit curved, so I had to bend the bottom of the mount so it would sit flat.