July 2010
Posted by David McCauley on Saturday, July 10, 2010
I've ordered the canopy and am working to get ready for the complicated job of mounting it.
Before I could start that effort, I had to attach the horizontal stabilizer. That was a tricky task and I didn't do as well as I had hoped. The specs call for a .75 degree negative incidence and when I was done, in spite or frequent fitting & checking, the incidences turnd out to be minus 1.2. Not a killer but it will add a little drag as I'll need a little nose-up trim for level flight.
Once ther stab was fastened in place I had to work inside the tail to add fiberglass reinforcement. The easiest way to work was to flip the fuselage belly up. I decided that I would fill and sand the bottom and then prime it. It's likely that it will be awhile before I turn it upside down again - maybe never!
I'm almost ready to prime and when that's done, I'll turn it right-side up and attach the verticle stabilizer. Then I can work on building the canopy frame.
I'm feeling the pressure as summer is starting to slip away and I want to get the canopy mounted and the turtle deck in place before I have to stop work in the garage for the winter. If I can do that and have a little time to spare, I'll start on the main spar.
Before I could start that effort, I had to attach the horizontal stabilizer. That was a tricky task and I didn't do as well as I had hoped. The specs call for a .75 degree negative incidence and when I was done, in spite or frequent fitting & checking, the incidences turnd out to be minus 1.2. Not a killer but it will add a little drag as I'll need a little nose-up trim for level flight.
Once ther stab was fastened in place I had to work inside the tail to add fiberglass reinforcement. The easiest way to work was to flip the fuselage belly up. I decided that I would fill and sand the bottom and then prime it. It's likely that it will be awhile before I turn it upside down again - maybe never!
I'm almost ready to prime and when that's done, I'll turn it right-side up and attach the verticle stabilizer. Then I can work on building the canopy frame.
I'm feeling the pressure as summer is starting to slip away and I want to get the canopy mounted and the turtle deck in place before I have to stop work in the garage for the winter. If I can do that and have a little time to spare, I'll start on the main spar.
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