(page 11-06) School's out.....                                                                    

All final exams are graded and all grades are turned in.  The laws of thermodynamics will not pass through my brain again until August 20, replaced by visions of making massive progress on the RV-12.  I also have until the end of the month to get my antique Corvette inspected or my registration will be revoked.  Busy month ahead, made easier by the fact that the Spousal Unit (my beautiful and brainy wife, Karen) accepted an offer today for a full-time faculty position in Mechanical Engineering here at UNC Charlotte.  What are the odds that a husband and wife would be able to teach in the same department?

The servo tray was near disaster.  The plans say to rivet the doublers, then final drill .25 the holes.  This would have worked fine if I had clamped the un-riveted ends together before drilling.  As it was, the doublers, being held to the tray by rivets on the ends, bent significantly when drilled, embedding chips between the doublers and the tray.  The rivets for one doubler had to be drilled out and the doubler removed and pounded flat with a hammer.  I was not happy.

I'm struggling with the decision to paint each part as I build it or wait, as others seem to do, until after flight test to paint the whole airplane fully assembled.  I would really like to avoid installing and removing the horizontal stab and vertical stab (and anti-servo tab and rudder) multiple times.