Scott & Tanya Card RV9A build log (N4822C)

Yeah! I finally put the cowl away after installing the camlocs. I did paint the inside of the cowl with white high temp engine enamel in a hope to make it prettier and be able to see oil drips easier. Oh, yeah, I had also previously brushed a thinned layer of epoxy on the inside surface too.
Moving on to getting the wheels on the gear. I’ve already done some of the prep work that I could do without a bunch of hoisting. The wheels were assembled long ago and most of the parts identified. If you’ve been following along, I put the fuselage up on the gear legs just before hanging the engine. Each gear leg has been sitting on a small 1×6 wood block on the floor with no wheel components on them. This has made for a very stable platform that is about 6-7″ lower than if the wheels were on it. All good things, but now it is time to put the round turny things on.
The only problem is that it is kind of a precarious situation to lift one leg up 7+” to put the wheel on. It feels like the whole fuselage could roll forward and over. This is probably just paranoid builder syndrome, but I’m taking no chances. So, I’m going to go a little more slowly and get all three legs up on wood blocks incrementally, then install one wheel at a time.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Ok, I’m finally done sanding on the cowl for now. I did a solid 9hr day today to get it knocked out with final sanding and priming. It isn’t anywhere near final, but is almost exactly as good as I was shooting for just for phase one, pre-paint. Almost all of the pin holes are filled. It will need one more round of sanding primer before paint. Major accomplishment.

 

  

  

  

 

Still priming and sanding the cowl…

Here is my attempt at the form-in-place gasket trick with proseal. Even though it hasn’t been tested, I think the results look great. I used some proseal out of the freezer that I mixed up months ago (experiment). It worked fine. I used regular plastic wrap from the kitchen between the proseal and the removable panel. I’m very happy to report that it didn’t stick at all!

 

  

  

  

  

 

Yep, I decided to dive into priming and sanding the cowl. The surface is pretty sloppy with pin holes and imperfections that have to be filled in an iterative process. I’m using UV Smooth Prime from ACS. The first coat I rolled on with a foam roller. That worked pretty well. I think I’m going to spray the next coat. I’m just aiming for close enough with this since it is a very unpleasant process. I’ll pay somebody to take it “the last mile” when it goes to paint.
The frustration of sanding for hours at a time deserved a nice flight so Tanya and I launched in a DA-40 for some pattern practice. What could be more relaxing.