I actually began the assembly of the center section on 6 July but didn't get to my planned stopping point until today. I wanted to complete all the shop steps up to the joining of the two center section bulkheads. To join the two assemblies a spacer made of hardwood representing the wing spar is required. This is going to require a piece of hardwood such as maple and a power planer to get exactly the correct thickness (1-7/16"). Not sure how I am going to get the spacer. I don't want to purchase a planer and even renting is rather expensive. I hate spending $60 for the use of a planer for about 10 mins. Think I will ask around and see if any friends have a planer.
Anyway, the center section bulkheads are ready to join once the spacer is acquired. Everything went together as expected. The shop instructions suggested priming items in this assembly that are not anodized. While most were alclad, I went ahead and primed each component to be sure they are well protected. The center section is particularly critical so must be well protected against any corrosion.
In preparation for tomorrow, I went ahead and pulled most of the parts for the seat rib subassembly. sorting through the parts inventory to find all the components for building an assembly takes time, on average about 30-45 minutes. As more and more parts are pulled and assembled the pick time should be reduced (fewer parts to sort through).
