Installed Archer VOR/ILS antenna in the right wingtip

I decided to go with Archer antenna for VOR/ILS - installed in the right wingtip.   I had to remove 5 nutplates, match drill antenna to fit these. then used a couple of #6 csk screws to secure to wingtip at the points indicated in the instructions.  I used a method shared by Stein at Steinair using a solder sleeve to connect shielding of a section of RG400, as well as the center element, to the antenna per directions (directions say to twist the shielding into a wire, but this is harder than it sounds, and the solder sleeve method is more secure and more elegant).

I laid up a few strips of fiberglass to secure the longer antenna element in place - this should keep it form moving inside the wingtip.

On the gear - finally

I've been moving slowly lately due to busy family and work life, with associated travel.   Since last post, I've gotten wheels and brakes installed, tweaked fitting of the main wheel pants, nose gear in place, brake lines in place, and started working on fitting avionics. 

The brake lines went through a couple of tweaks to get the best possible fit.  Tom at TS Flightlines has been fantastic about making the adjustments - the last one was switching the fittings at the gear brace to 45 degree type to make the line fit well inside gear leg fairings.  This is trickier than it looks - the banjo fittings on the Beringer calipers have to be "clocked" just right to the 45 degree fittings so there's no twist in the lines.

My friend Chris Kanuit has been helping out from time to time and today we got her on the gear - still tail heavy pending engine hanging but this will actually be helpful when I fit the nose wheel pant which requires getting the wheel off the ground.

Hopefully things will accelerate a bit going forward...