Workbench Extension - Wing Spars

The wing spars measure in at 10ft 2" long - which was about 40" longer than my workbench. So with the help of a couple of work platforms i had on hand, some lumber from the wing crates, some yellow tongue flooring offcuts from the garden shed floor, and some old carpet from the baby's room - i have a workbench extension!

The perfect size! Better not build a Xenos in this shed.

I also pulled apart all the crates and saved the plywood top with the wing cradle templates drawn on it, as well as all the nice pine crate sides. I will use these to build a wing cradle later on.

Wing Kit Order / Inventory

I figured i better get around to ordering the wing kit, as i was nearing the end of the empennage, with only the empenneage fibreglass fairings to go - and how long can they really take??

The wings were ordered on the 13 November 2019 - and i was given an expected ship date of the 20th Jan 2020. I figured the shipping would take at least another 8-10 weeks as there was no way i could afford air...

I made a few deletions out of the kit - mostly because i wanted to do my own wiring harnesses, and also i didn't need the stall warner (not that it ended up being very expensive). I added the roll trim aervo kit, as well as some cushion clamps (adel clamps) and some angle (for wiring and other odd jobs). I added the brackets and hardware from the landing light kit - so i can use my own lights later. Here is a list of the changes i requested:

Step in a wonderful gents from Gibson Freight, who quoted me a very reasonable price for shipping via LA, and only a 3-4 day lead time as well!!!

Needless to say, the wings arrived on the 4th Feb, and i was able to borrow a large trailer and pick them up on the 5th Feb 2020.

With the help of my dad and my mate Kingsley (and my 5 year old as well) we got the crates home safely and into the shed.

I decided i was going to focus on the end of the empennage and get the fibreglass fairings all finished before i started inventory... but, well, you know.. a box full of cool stuff???

Like this:

Very nice Newton SPRL fuel caps

In the end it took me about 6.5 hours over 3 days to get the inventory completed:

There are a lot more rivets than there used to be in the "TO GO" box. 

In the end the there were a few items missing - including the bag containing the rod end bearings and end caps for the aileron push rods - a quick email to Van's and these were in a FedEx box before close of business. Good service!

Anyhow, better get the fibreglass fairings completed before i start on the wings...