2.5 Hours -
Today, after breakfast, I started rearranging the garage for the fuselage build. I’m sure I’ll have to do some more moving as the fuselage grows, but, for now, I at least have enough room to unpack the crate and spread out all the parts for an inventory.
Unpacking the crate was the easy part. I placed most of the small, loose parts on my workbenches. Most of the sub-kits, which Van’s wraps together with plastic film, were also placed on top of the benches. The larger parts, such as the skins, were placed on a piece of paper on the floor.
After I rearranged the garage, I was able to get everything out of the fuse crate. Yet another big pile of paper too!
I piled small parts on my workbenches and placed skins on the floor.
Once the crate was empty, I started my inventory. As parts were checked off the list, I returned them to the crate. The skins went back in first, and I tried to keep the sub-kit parts grouped together (hopefully this will make some of the smaller parts easier to find later on). A couple of the bigger skins were shipped rolled. Now that they are flat again, they won’t fit in the crate, so I’ll just slide those under the crate for now.
As I did the inventory, of course, there were parts that I had to spend a little more time looking at than other parts. The first surprise was a box with a NAPA label on it. What could possibly come from NAPA? The box contained the parts for the fresh-air vent system, but I guess the only NAPA part was the vent hose. At least I know where to find a replacement if I screw it up somehow.
Well, at least I know where to get new air hoses for the fresh air vents if I need them. NAPA does stand for National Aviation Parts Association, right?
The other parts that I had to play with for a while were the tailwheel assembly, and, of course, the tail wheel. The tailwheel assembly includes everything for the tail gear except the wheel itself. It was kind of neat to see because it shipped assembled with the nuts only loosely attached to the bolts. I still haven’t decided if I want to buy a different fork, or just use the Van’s fork at first. The tailwheel, itself, was much heavier than I thought it would be. I was planning on just using the Van’s wheel, but now that I’ve felt the weight, I may buy one of the aftermarket wheels that weigh significantly less.
The tail wheel! No turning back now.
The tail wheel assembly minus the wheel.
By the end of the day, I just had a few parts left to inventory, but I haven’t even started on the huge bag of hardware. Thanks to having the crate for parts storage, it was easy to clear off the workbenches and get them well-organized. My Dad is coming over tomorrow, so finishing the inventory should be an easy task.
Dear FAA, I assure you that all the hardware in this bag will be installed by me.
After a couple of hours of unpacking and inventory, I only have these few parts and the hardware bag left to sort.
My benches are relatively clear and organized again.
Most of the big parts are back in the crate for storage. I tried to keep them grouped in the sub-kits as Van's packs them.
