Yup, today I filled out and faxed in the order form for my wing kit. Previously, I’d decided to wait until I had the majority of the funds for the kit available, but now I just don’t think I can wait that long; doing so would probably mean I wouldn’t be building wings until at least April. I’ve already had enough downtime and I don’t want to do that again. I’m just going to have to control my spending so I can be prepared to pay the balance of the kit off at the beginning of March. I know I can do this if I maintain my discipline.
A few random details: after reading some hot debates on VAF between capacitive and float-type fuel level senders, I elected to go with the capacitive variety. The lack of moving parts and increased accuracy appeals to me. I also substituted the “deluxe” fuel caps for the standard ones included in the kit; the consensus seems to be that the standard caps are known to have sealing issues and sometimes admit water into the fuel tanks. It’s a pretty cheap upgrade.
Also, in the course of seeing if there was anything else I should consider before ordering the wings, I discovered that I’m approaching a new build stage where I’ll really have to start thinking ahead. There are lots of things that need to be figured out before I button the wings up. Nav/position/landing lights will need to be wired up, and I should probably run conduit with pull strings in place in case I add stuff down the road. Apparently using a nonstandard pitot tube (which I’ll almost certainly do since I want an AoA indicator) also requires some attention here. Depending on which autopilot I want to use, I may need to install the roll servo in one wing. So on and so forth..I’m sure this will really get fun once I get into the fuselage…