(page 29-A) Wait....what?

Overall, I think the build manual is quite well written and the CAD drawings are terrific.  However, I found the words describing what needed to be done to the canopy ribs, doublers, attach angles and panel base to

be, uhh..., challenging to comprehend.  The Homebuilt Help videos actually seemed to contradict the manual.  Turns out, there was a reason for part, but not all, of the confusion.

For the canopy ribs (shown), I sort of figured out which holes were supposed to be machine countersunk rather than dimpled, though the machine countersinking never made complete sense considering the thickness (or lack thereof) of the aluminum sheet.

Update 9-8-13:  Just discovered that the bolt holes on the aft flange don't get dimpled (had to un-dimple them with a flat set).  The bolt holes on the other flanges do get dimpled.  The rivet holes in all flanges get machine countersunk.  The rivet holes in the web get dimpled.

The panel base was another story.  It was obvious that the piece delivered with my fuselage kit was different from the picture in the build manual.  An e-mail to the Mothership confirmed that I had been shipped an older, pre-Skyview, part, which I now have to modify.  Getting the correct part would mean that all the dimpling and riveting I had done to the part I have would be for naught.

I'm blaming my recent lack of progress on having to teach a new course this semester.  It's been a while since I actually had to prepare lectures from scratch.  I had forgotten how many hours of preparation are required before I can stand in front of the class and speak in a semi-intelligent fashion for an hour and fifteen minutes.  I told the Dean of Engineering that he is responsible for delaying my first flight by at least two months.