Friday the 13th is certainly an auspicious (ominous?) day to receive the first batch of parts for the big RV-8 project — the empennage kit — but that’s when it all showed up on the doorstep, three days earlier than expected. I suppose we’ll have to name her “Lucky 13″ or something similar, in deference to this fateful beginning. Thanks to Dad for the great photos!

We’ve decided to start the project at Dad’s house for now, since he has a suitable workspace and I do not. Upon receiving the two boxes labeled “High Dollar Aircraft Parts,” Dad immediately fired off an email to me with the single word “HELP” in the subject line. Looks like we’re both going to be in over our heads.

Dad has agreed to wait until I can join him for the all-important inventory process, even though I know he’s eager to get started on the HS-609s we’ve been reading about for the past six months. I guess it’s finally time to get our hands dirty.

Let the madness begin!