August 18th – I’ve had a punch list running for a while, and the number of items on it is getting lower and lower…

First thing to address was the Fuel Level calibration issue, I ended up chatting with the folks at RED Avionics, who are supporting the fuel probe these days. On their advice, I drained the fuel tank, removed and cleaned the probe, and did a reset on the sender unit. I then got a bunch of Jerry Cans full of the finest AvGas 100LL and tried again. Funny old thing, when you follow the recommended procedure, it works just fine! I now have an accurately reading fuel gauge!

I had started polishing the belly panel when I was waiting for various tech support folks to get back to me, and now it was time to rivet in place the last structural panel of the build. I drilled a hole for the transponder antenna, had a last check of everything down the aft end, and broke out the rivet gun.

With that done, the aircraft was complete enough to get a reasonably accurate weight, as I will need that to apply for the airworthiness inspection. With the help of Kat, I weighed each of the wheels, and came out with a final weight of 655.7lbs. I was shooting for 650, so not too bad, all in all.

Now it was time to start getting all the required markings in place, there are standards for the registration, data plate and an ‘experimental’ placard is required, just to remind any passengers that this is not a certified aircraft.

I also put some non-slip material on the wing root and a reminder not to step on the flaps.

The next sticker has a story behind it, and it’s an important one, as it tells how Sonex #1597 got a name.

Those of you who have paid close attention to this blog will know the name Howard, an old mate of mine who has been a friend to this build over the years, and has come up to help me a couple of times. On one of his early visits, he made the comment that the polished skin would make it look like a ‘diamond in the sky’,  and from that day, she could never be anything but Lucy to me. Thank you The Beatles (though I must confess, I prefer the Elton John version.)

It just so happens that a local micro brewery makes an IPA that we like called Lucid Dragon and it has a cool dragon logo on the cans that I thought would make a great image for some nose art. Unfortunately I could not track down the artist to get permission to use said image, but Kat came up with a great alternative; a old friend of ours from our skydiving days is a graphic artist who paints some amazing images onto skydiving helmets, could she come up with something? Long story short, and all that, Marissa from Compass and Crow Studios, painted me up a magnificent dragon, which I had digitized, made into a vinyl sticker and she now graces the cowling.

And with Lucy on the nose, I peeled all the tape and protective coverings off and pulled her outside to take some pictures.

At this point, I have completed the build to a sufficient point to have her inspected for the temporary Airworthiness Certificate that I need to do the first flight. I followed the EAA Step by Step Certification Guide to the letter, and the result is a date with the FAA for September 24th. There are a few bits and pieces that I can work on while I wait for the big day, but it’s not too far away.

Stay tuned…