The Inevitable Doldrums

Regular visitors will have probably noticed that it has been awhile since I have updated this journal - this was due to the inevitable time in every large project where you're just sick and tired of it. Having said that, I haven't worked on any kind of significant effort since 1) the day I retired seven years ago, and 2) I built an airplane. Either or both of those managed to slap me down pretty hard at times. The Cobra Doldrums were nowhere near as disruptive as the previous examples, but there was a definite lack of go get'em in the air.

Which, by the way, my airplane has not. Get in the air, that is. When I get into a don't care kind of fugue, it affects pretty much everything. 

That said, a notable pass time these days is drawing pictures for the Grandboyz. I have never been very artistic (and I am still not) but I found a way to cheat. I google "drawing outline {airplanes/cars/construction equipment - pick one}" 

It's just like when I drew in coloring books as a child, with the only difference being that I stay inside the lines a little bit better. I usually use colored pencils, but now and then I'll try acrylic paint or felt-tip markers.

It's just like when I drew in coloring books as a child, with the only difference being that I stay inside the lines a little bit better.

So, what happened with the mopey mood was shared by Grant. He did a fantastic job of getting the aluminum panels around the tunnel by which I mean he completely removed the sloppy job that I did drilling and riveting those panels. F5 must be almost spookily prescient - they knew exactly which parts to double-ship back during the difficult period when they were packing our kit.

There was a time in my life when I would have been insulted by him having re-done my mess, but I grew out of that about six months ago. Now if I wanted to be petty I would point out that a simple google search on the word 'perfectionism' gave me a nice little list of other words:

Quotes About Perfectionism

• Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly. ...
• Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best. 
• Aim for success, not perfection. 
• Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor.

So, yeah, none of that really matters - the stick is finished and I'm one more step closer to trying to harness 400 hp.

I strongly suspect that he did all of the work on the shifter to avoid working on the wiring. It's convenient to have a wiring harness provided, but the harness has a lot of redundancy/duplication in there, probably so that it can be used across most (in not all) of the F5 models. Personally, I would be fine with all of that if it was better documented. 

Oh, just in case you missed it, I am now also not all that thrilled with the Build Manual. Just one more way that I have been spoiled by Vans Aircraft's documentation.

Moving on, this is what the dashboard will look like installed.

It's starting to look like the body will be lifted into place soon.

I got out for a work session a couple of days ago, and I was proven to be correct that the body work needs to start. While Grant was (STILL!!) trying to get a handle on the wiring, he tasked me to sand the interior of the shell. Why? Because if we don't, the red will be visible from a number of spots when the car is finished.

This took about three hours, even with the use of the air sander. The sanding discs cost just about 50¢ each and last for approximately 6.386 seconds before they're worn out. The primary task was to ensure that there were no loose fiberglass strings floating loose where they would get painted and thus hardened. 

That was all I had time for, and my back was acting up from all of the kneeling and squatting, so I headed home. We're getting very close to lifting the body and setting it on chassis for the first time - I'm wondering if just the two of us can do that.

Work time for this step:  6 hours.

Unproductive time: None.  

Frustration Level: 2/10 for car. 

Total time of build: 146 hours.