A four-day weekend is a good time to take stock. I have installed the seats, the pedals, the brake plumbing, the flap actuator and shaft, the control sticks and pushrods, the empennage, and my home-grown underfloor baggage compartments. I've started the cabin ventilation and heating installation.

The rudder has less than an inch to spare to the roof beam. The left elevator balance horn has about an inch to spare to Laura's printer. I'm really glad I didn't order an RV-10.

The Aeroquip hoses were another new skill to learn. A budy at work showed me one trick that helped: don't use a hacksaw to cut the hose to length...use a cutoff wheel. It makes a much cleaner cut. The hacksaw cut splayed the edge of the braid so much that it was impossible to fit into the fitting. I taught myself another trick: use a vise to hold the fitting when you screw in the nipple...it leaves you with a free hand to push the hose up into the fitting. Without that pressure, the hose backs out of the fitting as the nipple is screwed in. Of course, the instructions that came with the fittings say just that...RTFM!

We hosted Thanksgiving here this year, so all the nephews and nieces who were so inclined got to sit in the cockpit and wiggle the stick. I'm sure the conversation in the car on the way home was "He roasts a good turkey...but Uncle Martin is nuts!"

It's almost paradoxical: I order a QuickBuild kit to save time, and then waste many, many hours with my "improvements," by deviating from the plans. I wanted underfloor baggage compartments, so I have them...but each one probably took 4 hours.