I dug into the brake plumbing with a vengeance. Then I realized that the kit includes JUST enough fittings. I screwed up a few times, in the traditional ways. In particular, my brake lines ended up too short, because whenever I wasn't happy with how the fittings looked, I snipped off half an inch, rescued the fittings, and tried again. Well, a half inch here, a half inch there, and pretty soon I got to throw the whole thing away. Oh well, they're cheap, and I ordered a few more from Van's, along with the Matco parking brake valve.

While I wait for the fittings, I decided to install the brake reservoir. I used the reservoir as a drill guide to make the two AN3-size holes.

With one hole drilled, I inserted a long bolt to locate the reservois while I drilled the second.

Then, with a second bolt keeping the reservoir in place, I traced around the plumbing fitting. A quick zap with the Unibit, and I'm ready to bolt it on.

A key tool of the trade is the computer near the work area with Dan Checkoway's site bookmarked.

My parents showed up for a quick visit about that time, so I stuck a wrench in Dad's hand and put him to work tightening the bolts that hold the brake reservoir on.

The brake reservoir stands off a bit from the firewall, offset with a stack of washers. The upper part of the firewall is canted a bit, but I didn't know how much. Since I wanted to put in the right number of washers, I installed the forward fuselage ribs to force the firewall to the right angle.

I need to add a couple of more brake lines when I get the fittings, and then run the pilot's side pedals to the parking valve. Also, the parking brake valve to the the firewall fittings. Those last two are flexible rubber hoses, so I have to decide whether to build them up myself or order them custom-made.