Big day here in sleepy Northern Colorado. This great big truck, and its pretty amazing driver, pulled through the narrow, slanted gate at the airport and delivered my wings, fuselage, and replacement parts.

After dealing with Old Dominion Freight for my empennage, I can highly recommend ABF as a much better alternative. Not only were they about half the cost but they were so easy to deal with from start to finish.

This is Mark. He is my new best friend. We chatted about airplanes (he restored and flew an Ercoupe and needs to get current) and he was just the nicest guy.

Getting these boxes out of the truck was a challenge and he did it with ease. It was almost like he had done this before. I joked that he is probably a remarkable pool player because he could look at those angles and figure out exactly how to get my airplane and himself around and out with ease. This is something that would have taken me all day, lots of swearing, probably a little alcohol, and at least one trip to urgent care.

At the end, a full hangar is a happy hangar.

The star of the day is the box of replacement parts. These are all the replacements for my laser cut parts. I will be using the old laser cut parts for practice. And I need a lot of practice. They will not go to waste.

So the build is finally getting real. This is the whole plane except the finishing kit, engine, and propeller. I am refusing to think about how many rivets are in those boxes. Fellow builders who are following along, keep that information to yourselves for awhile. I am more than a bit overwhelmed right now. I have taken a few small pieces home for the weekend, because you build an airplane like you eat an elephant … one bite at a time.

#rv14 #womenwhobuild #stephbuildsaplane #wings #fuselage #flylikeagirl