Secured the brake cable to the main gear using AN742-D3 clamps and AN526-10R6 screws. I drilled and taped 10-32 blind holes on the inside of the gear instead of through drilling and countersinking as in the plans.
Painted the nose gear strut since the paint was pretty beat from installing/removing the lower cowling while fitting that. Enlarged the upper hole in the nose wheel pant by 1/32 to allow clearance for the paint on the tow bar stud.
Did some cockpit cleanup, fixing a sticky push-to-talk switch on the stick and putting electrical tape on the instrument lighting LED strip so the LED's aren't directly visible. Tried out the fit of the seatbelts. When snugged up there is a lot of bitter end flopping around. Will consider cutting the excess, "melt fusing" the cut end and sewing it back on itself as in the factory method.
Sat in the cockpit for a while for "cockpit familiarization" training. Maybe I'll go through the Navy exercise of touching and identifying all the guages and switches with eyes closed. One item I think will be useful is some sort of arm rest on the sides of the cockpit. Right now the canopy rails are convenient and comfortable, but those aren't available with the canopy closed. I'm hoping to do some extensive cross countries, so comfort would be nice. Another item that might be useful is a rear view mirror. When strapped in, it's hard to see the rudder/elevator movement during ground checks. This may all seem silly, but ergonomics is a science in itself and needs to be thought about to reduce fatigue and maintain access to vital equipment and controls. I've worked with the Navy NAVSEA auditors, and they actually have time limits for access to vital equipment by the pilot/operator.
Enough prattle for now, how about a nice glass of wine?
