Jetlag therapy

Remember all that time off I had this summer, when it seemed like I was constantly working on the airplane? It's payback time, and since mid-November I've only been home a couple days at a stretch. Jetlag is cumulative, but recovery is helped by doing something you love (like working on an airplane) and I've learned to gauge my fatigue by starting with small projects and seeing how the day goes from there. Some days it's all I can do just to come out and sweep the hangar, other days start easy and by the end I'm into a complex project.

I'm home for a long pre-Christmas trip stretch, with Sparky at work I came out to do some simple things. PA uses some #10x3/4" machine screws to hold the side rails in place, and probably no one else will notice but I thought they looked disproportionately long so I ordered some #10x5/8" ones. Replacing them was the perfect job for a jetlag day, and you can see the difference here.

I was starting to feel better, and finished something I started when I was rewiring the electrical system for the new radio. The Dynon system is updated via a USB port, and Approach wires a USB pigtail into the harness. I added an extension to it, and put a layer of heat shrink over the connection to hold it together.

After that I (carefully) used a grinder to cut a slot into the instrument panel L-brace, and screwed it in place. 

This allows me to hide the USB port but get easy access for updates.

Feeling good and in a groove, I finished the gap seal on the right flap. Hopefully I'll get to the aileron gap seal tomorrow.

Oh, by the way. How 'bout them Seahawks?