Well true to form I blew off some household chores and worked on the airplane. It is a good thing Anita is a sport about this sort of thing. I finished up the fuel system with the line connecting the fuel pump to the firewall. Obviously there will be more to do fuel system wise once I have an engine. It is time to move back to the tail to ready the top skin. Some things need to be done first like the static system. Also there is the step. It is one of the first things on the QB fuselage instructions but I delayed because I knew I would need to work the step to get a nice fit. The step is welded out of 4130 steel and in the welding process it can get out of shape. The RV-8 is more of a problem in that the step has to fit the curve of the fuselage. The other model RV’s the step fits flat against the side of the fuselage. I had to heat the step and give it a few whacks with a hammer to work it into shape. I have a nice fit on all sides except the front edge, so I made a small shim out of aluminum that will fill the void I am quite happy with the results. After I was satisfied the step would fit nice and flush to the fuselage I marked the holes that will hold the step support. I then installed the support block and set the torque on the bolts and marked them with torque seal. The step will get riveted on later; you have to leave it off until after the flap fairing is fitted to the plane. I will be onto the aft upper bulkheads next and then the static line and ports.
All sides fit nice and flush like this except the front side
I added a shim which you can see here to fill the void on the front side.
Step set in place after the support block was installed.
