Take your time….

Some of you are aware that I built a kit aircraft a few years ago. It was a Searey amphibian and it took me 1100 hours over 2.5 years to build.
I recall the Searey Australian Distributor telling me once that he understands that everyone wants to build their aircraft as soon as possible and get it flying.

However he said try not to rush through the build process as one day suddenly it will be finished so make sure that you have done everything you want to it. By that he meant any extra modifications or options as some things are very difficult to go back later and add.

Unlike the CAV GT40 OZ Edition where we supply the dash, wiring looms, instruments etc, the Searey didn’t come with an instrument panel or any wiring at all so I had to manufacture it all myself from scratch. I wanted it to look like a proper aircraft not a basic ultralight so you will see by the photo below that I think I achieved that.

I took that advice on board and when I look back I can’t recall anything that I didn’t do that I wanted to do and was extremely happy with the end product.

Now that I am building a GT40 I am also heeding his advice and even though I want to get this baby on the road ASAP, I have been adding a few things that I know I will be happy I did.

A couple of examples are related to the wiring as it is such a big important job and very time consuming so I took the time to add some LED lighting up under the dash so that if I need to do any work under there I won’t have to try and hold a light and work on something at the same time. Those of you that wear bifocals know exactly what I am talking about when trying to lie upside down under a dashboard!

I also added a full Autowatch alarm system, low coolant alarm, music system, cig lighter and USB ports and more that I will talk about in future posts.

My Audi O1E gearbox has just arrived so next I will be fitting it to the engine and then doing a trial fit into the chassis. Stay tuned for that.