Kinda funny… I’ve been waiting for warmer weather to get more done on the plane, then when warmer weather does come along I find myself with other non-airplane build chores that need to get done as well (sigh!).

Later in the afternoon I brought the epoxy wiped bottom cowling outside in prep to knock out the initial sanding with the 80 grit orbital and pad sanders.

I also included the top cowl oil check door in this afternoon’s reindeer games.  Here’s both after I finished the initial sanding of the epoxy wipes.

After bringing the bottom cowl back into the shop, I spent another good hour on it block sanding it out.  Not surprisingly I had a few minor divots that needed filled —the majority on the unmicro’d carbon fiber areas— so I added micro/West 410 to those problem areas.

Many hours later, I sanded all the added micro dabs down, then block sanded the entire bottom cowling with 150 grit wet sandpaper.

I also wet sanded the top cowl with 150 grit as well.  This makes both the top and bottom cowls ready for primer.

I then turned back onto the canopy latch system, tapping the remaining side of the modified C2 canopy latch bracket with 1/4-20 threads.

Tomorrow I’ll continue prepping components for primer & paint, as well as work to get the canopy latch system dialed in and finished.