Graduations and Oshkosh Airventure Prep

I stalled a bit on the build as more rainy weather moved in over the past several weeks. Yesterday and to day we finally hit 80 degrees with no rain. The rain even threatened to cause problems with my youngest son's high school graduation, but it managed to stop long enough for that to happen outside as scheduled. Then came the big graduation party one week later. That definitely turned into a major weather fiasco. About 100+ people showed up at the house and had to move inside when the weather reared its ugly head multiple times. At least several people were interested in the plane so we talked in the garage for a while during the party.

In my 53 years I have never seen such BS weather in the month of May. All that said, at least I can finally put these graduations in the history books. All I have is four more years of college to finance, and then I am done with schools forever.

The USAF Thunderbirds were in town this weekend, flying over Aurora Reservoir. Of course, in true Colorado fashion, the only thing the media reported on the parking fiasco. This was the main reason I did not attend. Not sure if they will perform at Airventure again this year or not, but if they do then I will have a great seat to watch them from, without all parking madness.

With graduations out of the way, and the weather taking up  most of the month of May, I needed to start preparing the trailer for the 2,000 mile round trip journey to Oshkosh. I managed to get the water system checked out today and I only have one leak. Only problem is that it may require a new water pump to fix it. The electrical and everything else seems to be ready to go,minus one problem with the trailer light circuit from the vehicle that I have already traced part of the way.

I'll have a different tow vehicle this year, so that means that there are bound to be issues along the way, but I am ready for that. the AAA subscription will be paid up, and I'll have all my tools with me as usual. I'm just hoping that flooding and bad weather are not going to make this an even more challenging trip. About 8 more weeks is all that remains, and it will be time to travel again.

Here are some pics of the brackets in their almost finished form. I trimmed the edges and smoothed them on the scotch brite wheel. Then I fit them to the rib, clamped them into place, and drew the outline on the back side of the rib web.  Next I need to remove the rib and ensure that the brackets are clamped precisely in the correct place and then I will match drill the rivet holes for the rib attachment and rivet them in place. then the rib goes back on the spar where I will match drill the rivet hole for the flange that sits on the main spar web.

After a couple more home repairs I think I can resume the build. Will it ever end?????