It took a little longer than I anticipated, but it's installed. Here is the Dynafocal mount all torqued and cotter pinned. We used a number of core drills to get it stepped up to 3/8".
Thanks again Udo for stopping by to help me get this done.
Now, all we need is an engine....
The Landing Gear Legs are finally Done! This was a huge task that I've been dreading for months. Take your time, be methodical, and it will go together as per the plans. Make sure you have a variety of sockets,extensions, and wrenches handy. Thanks a million Lee B. for all of your hardwork and expertise in this portion of the project. I think we used every socket and wrench known to man.
Here we are finishing up. 
A small portion of the bottom skin had to be removed in order for the bolt heads to pass and line up.
See the 3 bolt heads? The third one from the left, closest to the outboard, had to be temporarily removed in order to hold the landing gear backet nut inside the box.
Look close! Here are the two fuselage gear box screws that needed to be temporarily removed in order to get the landing gear bracket nuts and bolts tightened and torqued up. 
Well, this is the only major mod that I'll be doing on the aircraft. I replaced the Vans standard cowling with the James Aircraft "Holy Cowl". I've been on the waiting list for about 14 weeks and now it's finally here.
Here I am at the ABF freight Depot in ATL. Judging by the forklift, you'd think it was heavy or something. That is until the guy almost dropped the box. I ran over to grab it and discovered it was light as a feather. The guy could have just hand carried it to my truck.
The box. This thing could have easily be blown out of the back of the truck if it were not strapped down. I'll get to work on this just as soon as I get the gear legs and engine mount installed.
Canopy and Skirts all riveted. I hope all the extra work applying the SikaFlex adhesive was worth it. So far, So Good, No Cracks anywhere! I'm happy with the results.
Canopy Interior. Looks pretty sweet!
Close up of the interior Canopy Skirts. You can see the SikaFlex(black) in between the rails and ribs of the Canopy Frame. There was a ton of prep work involved with getting the Sika all glued in place.
I prepped the canopy and applied Sikaflex adhesive to the inside edges. This isn't a necessary step on the project, but I feel it's added protection against any future plexi cracks.
Closeup of the black Sikaflex adhesive on the canopy cage rails. Looks nice! 
Closeup of the 3/4" black primer stripe inside the plexi.
Canopy slid open.
I underestimated the amount of work involved with fitting these skirts. I used a hole finder/duplicator to get the skirt holes in line with the canopy frame holes. The holes were then countersunk with a small diameter cs bit. Tons of trimming, fitting, and drilling going on here. I think we're there now. Whew!
I will be using a SIKA Flex sealant and blind rivet combination for final assembly. 
Getting the skirts to fit just right is going to be a real challenge...
Well, I've done the initial trim to fit on the flamingo pink skirts. Don't worry, they won't be pink for long, there must be a million pin holes. Lots of resin,primer, and sanding to come.
#40 holes are opened up to #30. A plexidrill was used on the glass. Everything was deburred, both sides, and clecoed back up.
Then I checked all holes w/a pop rivet and made any adjustments. Next, I applied a few temporary flush rivets to hold the canopy in place while the skirt gets fitted. They will be drilled out later when final riveting is to be done. Be careful! Be sure to use AACQ 4-4 rivets and not the CS4-4 rivets, for the canopy. One rivet every 12" or so and a couple in the back to pull everything tight. I followed this by drilling the bottom rails and ribs out for the skirt. #40, then#30. deburr. The skirt will be fitted tomorrow.. Holes in the skirt will be located w/a hole finder and template.
(see the thin black tape line?)
Getting Closer to the final fit.
Trimming... I think I've taken the canopy on and off a dozen times or so, trimming a little bit more each time.
Before trimming. Notice the canopy has large plexiglass flanges from the factory mold. They must be trimmed off. * Tip- Before you begin cutting, draw a center line from Front to Back. It will be a huge help. Thanks to Randy Lervold for the tip!
Read this before you get started on the frame-http://www.vansaircraft.com/pdf/canopy.pdf
Canopy Frame and Slide Rails getting fitted. A little more bending and everything will be perfect.
Here is a pic of the aft fuselage slide block on the rail. It took a few hours to get everything fitted properly.
I epoxy primed the remaining aluminum parts. I think this is the final patch, but who knows right? (all priming was done outside)
Finishing Kit underway. Stay Tuned!
Sorry for the delay, I've been out of town for the last two weeks. Finishing kit will be started in a few days....
Pitot line hole drilled in left side of fuselage(see black grommet) ,Wing Lighting hole drilled(right of pitot hole), I also added another platenut here, on both sides, to help pull the wing fairing up tight.
Platenuts installed on both wings and fuel tanks.. You can also see the one platenut installed on the main spar flange.
More platenuts.... lots of deburring, dimpling, and countersinking going on.
Aft fuselage dimpled for rear flap fairing(inside fuse pic)
I spent several hours getting the flap fairings all fitted,trimmed, and drilled out. I had Greg H. come by to help hold the fairings in place while I drilled from the inside out on several holes. It was a real chore molding the pieces by hand, but once again, it turned out very nice.
*You will need a right angle drill for the inside drilling.
Left Fairing. Nice and tight around the leading edge... Inboard side trimmed 3/16" to accept a gap seal. Final drill after the photo is #19
Bottom view left side-looking fwd to aft
Right Side. A lot more trimming here too....
Left side flap push rod. The rods had to be cut,drilled, and tapped.
Lots of trimming around this area....The flaps now sit nice and flush when in the up position. Sweet!
Right side flap push rod. The holes on the fuselage had to be enlarged to prevent interference with the rods...
Flap motor gets a test run...
Well I spent most of the day today getting the flaps all lined up and trimmed to perfection.
Udo came by once again to help ease my frustrations and lend a hand. This is definitely a two man job. I waited until the wings and ailerons were mounted to drill the wing side of the flap hinge.
Trailing edges all lined up. This is the real challenge.
I removed several eyelets and installed a hinge pin in both the outboard and inboard sections. I will drill two small holes and safety wire the ends down. They are only accessible when the flaps are all the way down.....
Wing side of the flap hinge all drill and clecoed in place. Be sure to back up your drilling with a piece of wood to get nice straight holes... We also had to temporarily safety wire the flap brace down to aid in getting the hinge lined up. Yes, a real pain. Glad it's done!
I met up with the driver of Partain Transport off one of the interstate exits to help capture the box. I was able to save a little time and money by delivering the final leg myself.... Thanks again for the trailer Chris! And thanks to Greg, my neighbor, for loaning his back in helping me w/ the crate.
Let's see what's in the box! This time there is only 3 pages worth of inventory...
Happy Easter 2009! Here is the left aileron (inboard)getting fitted and temp bolted in place. I used the aileron bellcrank jig to help align the flight controls, then only minor adjustments were needed to the aileron pushrod.... A few turns to raise the aileron a bit. Looks good from what I can tell. I will get a second option from one of our techs at work to be sure though. Flap fitting is next...
Outboard view. *Tip- Use a dab of grease or a dot of super glue to help hold the washers in place while placing the bolts.
(Top inboard view)
I fabricated the left and right outside fuselage to wing tank brackets. This was a huge pain and I spent way to much time working on these guys. I screwed up the first ones, so this was my second attempt. The rough cuts were made with my bandsaw, then polished on the deburring wheel. *Warning*-Take your time, use a pro 90 degree drill where necessary, and have a variety of bits handy. The big hole is for my inverted fuel line to pass through on the right tank. I will make the slot cut to the 1/4 hole shown after the wings are removed. The slot will allow the bolt and wing to shear off in the event of an accident. I will prime the brackets later....
The electric trim servo. I got some Dean connectors from the local Hobby Town to connect the tiny 26 awg wires. I decided this was the best option for allowing me to disconnect the servo for future aircraft painting. You could use a D-sub connector as another option, but that seemed like a bigger pain.
Trim wire. I ran it through the tiny relief hole in the bottom corner of the elevator. I soldered and heat shrank all the wires. Yes, it was difficult to solder those little wires.... 
All connected. I will wait to trim the push rod to length...
Ah, the keys! Here is my ignition switch from Vans.
Here you can see the elevator trim rocker switch, flap switch, and LCD trim indicator. I used a dremel tool (with a cutter bit) and files to cut out the holes.... The rocker switch will be the back up trim, primary will be on the the stick.
Simple momentary switch that Vans sells, nothing fancy. I will be installing an Air Vent and Trim indicator above it on the left side on the panel.
Rear View
