Both cockpits are completely finished with the instrument panels wired, plumbed and in place.
My aim is an antique look but with some modern amenities hidden out of site. I hope the electrical system and radio are completely invisible.
I was lucky enough to find what looks like an ordinary magneto switch, but it has an extra position that acts as the master switch. It is marked "Off, Batt, L, R, Both"
The stick grips were turned from apple wood by a local wood worker and I love the way they look. He would be happy to make more if anyone needs them.
The beautiful etched metal placards came from Joe Krybus. I chose to install the German / Dornier ones as befits the Swiss paint scheme, but the kit Joe supplies contains German, Czech and Spanish placards as I recall. They are prepared by painting the whole placard black and then rubbing it carefully on some 1200 grit wet/dry paper mounted on a sheet of glass. I experimented with several types of clear coat but found that the best looking, longest lasting results were obtained with my wife's clear nail polish. - Which reminds me, I need to go buy some more before she notices her unintentional donation.
Something I have been putting off literally for years is the fabrication of the wing root fairings. As it turned out, they were no where near as hard to make as I had anticipated.
I cut them from half-hard aluminum and bent the flanges with seaming pliers. I then stretched them with a metal stretching machine borrowed from a friend.
I had never used a shrinker- stretcher before but I found it pretty easy to use. It was a lot more sensitive than I expected though. It took barely the weight of my hand on the handle to produce the curvature required at the leading edge.
I need to do some filing and smoothing to remove the tool marks, then the fairings will be ready for paint.
Finally, after investing as much time as would be required to build an entire Pitts Special in the design and construction of the new cowling, the thing is finally finished.
The top is made of glass and epoxy resin with aluminum reinforcing ribs on the inside, while the doors are sheet aluminum with internal bracing ribs manufactured with the shrinker-stretcher tool again.
Four SK4000 1/4 turn fasteners keep each door closed while four large Dsuz fasteners clamp the upper cowl to the engine mount.
My goal, as I have drivelled on about for years, was to make a cowl that was the same shape as the Spanish cowl but modified to accommodate the LOM 337 engine and eliminate the beauty bumps" required by the Tigre magnetos. It has taken for ever to get here, but now that the cowling is finished, I really like the way it looks. Others will hate it, but that's OK. It makes me happy. It turned out to be 1.5 inches (4 cm) longer than the stock Spanish cowl. I don't think that will be noticeable.
All that remains now is to paint the cowl, wing root fairings and wings, hook up the brakes and assemble the aircraft. I should be able to complete that this year, right?