(page 09-09) All buttoned up.........                   

All of the rivets are in the stabilator, including the ones in the dreaded piano hinge for the anti-servo tabs.  Of the hundreds of rivets that went into the skin and hinge, only a few required that I run a #30 bit through the hole.  I am constantly amazed at how well everything fits.  Van's deserves their number one position among kit makers.

As soon as I attach the counter weights to this thing, I'll hang it from the rafters and start on the tail cone.  That'll be the bulkiest thing I've built, and I have no idea where I'll store it.  I've still not opened the box for the fuselage kit, much less inventoried all the parts, so space is about to become a pressing issue.

Speaking of Van, one of my missions at OSH this year will be to get down on bended knee and beg him to switch to the new fuel injected version of the Rotax.  I get a sick feeling when I think of spending that much money on something with carburetors.  I thought my days of syncing carbs were over when I mothballed my CB750 Honda.  Word is they will not offer the new engine because of packaging problems with the external alternator and the additional $$$.  I would happily pay the difference.