14 June 2003 Images

5 July 2003:

Click on a thumbnail for a full size version.  These are high resolution images, file sizes as shown, captured as tif images for best quality from my Olympus C-3040 3.3 MP camera, then converted to jpg at 100% quality for these posts.  If you have a need for an original roughly 9 MB tif image for republication, let me know and I'll post it or email it to you.  I used optical zoom to provide closer imaging of the front half and back half images (images 4 and 5) for those of you who have an interest in detail.

The first six images are, in my view, the best.  The rest are redundant except for exposure differences, which in some cases are minor.  The aircraft is a very tough subject - even under excellent lighting conditions such as when these were captured (early morning on a heavily overcast day), the contrast range is well beyond the camera's capability as best I understand it.  So the top of the fuselage is typically washed out while the landing gear areas are much too dark.  Some images are intended for best range overall, some for better light areas, and some for better dark areas.

I just gave the aircraft an exterior bath, so it looks as good as it gets at this stage of construction.  In this region, a pressure washing of the exterior should be accomplished at least every two years, a job which takes me roughly four days working full time, using ladders for access, except the top, which I access from the number two engine nacelle.  It's often quite dangerous work due to the risk of a fall, especially when the pressure washer wand kicks or it's hose drops unexpectedly - it makes me damn nervous.

The primary trench digging is complete, and rerouting of the well power line into the new trench is complete - I was able to pull the power cable from the roughly 15 foot length of the old trench by simply pulling it out while the ground was wet, and it was more than long enough to route to the new meter base.  I've acquired material for a 50 Amp 240 Vrms auxiliary power service, including an auxiliary circuit breaker cabinet (which will be mounted inside the aircraft), plus a telecom cable, PVC conduit for all those cables, and backup PVC water pipe for the water service, all of which I've decided to route to the aircraft's water service port area on the left side of the fuselage, just in front of the wing.  I'm considering routing the primary 200 Amp power service through the same path, using yet another PVC conduit, but I haven't committed to that yet.  However, I will position the conduits for the other items and allow space in the water service port area for a 200 Amp connection to keep that option open.  I expect to have the auxiliary power and telecom line installation complete soon, but it depends upon whether my attention turns to mounting the left wing, which I'm also eager to accomplish.

I'd prefer to avoid any new PVC water pipe due to the fact that most of it is evidently manufactured using a lead based catalyst, which I've read leaves some lead in the polymer.  I recognize that the levels are quite low, but polyethylene is extremely clean, and seems to me the much better option from a toxics standpoint, and has no disadvantages that I can see, except that it's not as readily available as PVC.  But my intent is to be patient and try to find some 1" or 1.25" polyethylene pipe for the new underground water line rather than use the PVC I already have.  All the aircraft's new internal water pipe will be polyethylene, and I'll replace any soft PVC as quickly as I can locate them, and in any case before drinking from them, to avoid consumption of phthalates which are an inherent component of soft PVCs, and do leach out.

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