Prop and Nose Pant - 0.5 hours (457.5 Total)

In preparation to doing another weight and balance (and having little to do until I get some more parts in on Monday), I temporarily installed my prop and nose wheel pant. Both were only finger tightened into place.

I also installed some trim onto the nose wheel.

Chute Bridle - 0.5 hours (457 Total)

The next thing I did today was wrap the main bridle of the parachute with a 3/8" plastic cable loom. This made the cable loom pretty small, profile wise, to limit the amount it obstructs my view out of the windshield.

The bridle will need to be secured to the aluminum tube it is resting on once I remove the windsheild's plastic coating. I will try some double sided tape but I may need to rivet some type of brackets or tabs to the aluminum tube to hold the bridle in place.

Push To Talk Button - 0.5 hours (456.5 Total)

The next thing I did today was install my push to talk (PTT) button.

This involved removing the control stick and drilling a hole in the base of it. I inserted a coiled cable similar to a telephone hand set cable but with a 2.5mm stereo connector into the hole with a rubber grommet. I soldered a momentary switch to the wires and installed it in to the cap that goes on the control stick.

Unfortunately, the coiled wire had very fine conductors which break very easily. In fact one of the wires broke during the process of installing the cap. During normal use, the wire shouldn't see much vibration relative to the stick and button so it shouldn't be a problem.

While testing, I went ahead and mounted my radio to the instrument panel with velcro. The adhesive on the velcro is not recommended for fabric but a test I had done showed it adheres well unless you pull it from an edge. I deliberately sized the velcro piece on the fabric to be larger than the portion on the radio. This should keep the velcro from being pulled from an edge.

Control Grips - 0 hours (456 Total)

The next thing I did today was install the grips onto the flap handle and control stick. This was very simple to do with a technique I learned from a bicycle mechanic. Use an air compressor to blow air inside the base of the grip as you slide it on. This will inflate the grip and allow it to easily slide onto the stick.

Jury Struts - 1 hour (456 Total)

The first thing I did today was install my jury struts.

The jury struts are designed to be held in place by a pin and cotter pin. This setup has been known to fail due to the vibration shearing off the cotter pin.

In attempting to make a vibration resistant mount I replaced the normal aluminum inserts with nylon inserts. I riveted the inserts into place and then used a stainless steel sheet metal screw with coarse threads to screw into the holes I drilled in the center of the nylon.