Went to install the wheels and discovered that the tire balancing dot didn't align with the valve stems – BOTH WHEELS. That struck me as being a bit strange because I distinctly remember setting the alignment during assembly. Hmmm. So, apart they came and I re-did the alignment. Strange but later in the day I noticed that one of the assemblies suffered from the same malady. Then I put two and two together. When putting the tires and tubes on the wheels I torque the wheel halves together, align the tire and stem and then inflate the tire/tube. I remembered that torqueing the bolts to 150 inch pounds was really awkward and a bit of a fight before I found the magic way to hold it all, including a wrench on the side opposite the torque wrench - it must have been then that the misalignment occurred. I fixed the vagrant wheel, installed them and put the plane on its wheels for the first time.
Next to the instrument panel. I've been debating changing the design a bit by adding a tilt feature to facilitate working behind the panel - should it ever be needed. I've made up my mind several times in the past few months - to do or not to do – each time produces a different answer. Today, the answer was do it and I started by laying out the hinge half that mounts to the panel. So goes the decision and apparently I'm willing to delay progress with a design change – holes were drilled.
