FIBERGLASS |
We decided to go with the 'West System' epoxy, as it is practically
foolproof to get the correct quantities of resin and hardener.
Sometimes the heater in the hangar gets turned down when something is
curing...and leads to unpredictable results. We were uneasy about
starting fiberglass work, but have become fascinated with the craft
since initiating this phase of the project. (Click any picture for
a larger view with an explanation.) One of my neighbors here in
the airpark is building (another) Lancair IV-P, so I try to sneak over
and learn whenever possible. |
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Fiberglass Supplies |
Flocked Cotton |
Epoxy Resin with Flocked Cotton |
Trimming Fiberglass |
Trimming Fiberglass |
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Checking out a cut... |
Drilling Vertical Stabilizer Tip |
Fitting Vertical Stabilizer Tip |
Aft Cover of Vertical Stabilizer Tip |
Sanding Filler on Vertical Stabilizer |
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Finished Vertical Stabilizer Tip |
Forward View of Vertical Stabilizer |
Filling on Vertical Stabilizer Tip |
Rear View of Vertical Stabilizer Tip |
Completed Vertical Stabilizer Tip |
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Completed Tips of Vertical Stabilizer and Rudder |
Adjusting Rudder Fit |
Filler on Rudder Stops |
Final Rudder Adjustment |
Final Rudder Fit |
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Fitting Fiberglass on Lower Part of Rudder |
Installing Lower Rudder Tip |
Pop Riveting Lower Rudder Fairing |
Pop Riveting the Lower Rudder Tip |
Wiring For Rudder Strobe |
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Finished Rudder Strobe |
Acorn Nuts for Rudder Strobe |
Fitting the Elevator Tip |
Fitting the Elevator Tip |
Fitting Horizontal Stabilizer Tip |
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Filler on Left Elevator |
Sanding Filler on Aft Horizontal Stabilizer Tip Cover |
Sanding on Left Elevator and Horizontal Stabilizer |
I used a mixture of microballoons and milled fiberglass to
bond this strip to the lower cowl. The procedure was to mask the
area below the strip with tape, then butter up the cowl side and attach
the strip using cleco's I had dipped in Johnson's paste wax. Once
all the clecos were in place, I began replacing them with rivets, which
I used a squeezer to install. |
This is a shot of the whole strip installed. |
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I had to cut away a small portion of the foam at the border of the
prepreg fiberglass so the lower cowl would fit the attachment plates
that hold the cleco receptacles at the bottom of the firewall. I
layed up two layers of glass to cover this area. Notice the
football shaped hole in the center of the lower cowling? |
This is the hole I cut to make room for the fuel lines at the bottom
of the Airflow Performance Servo. After messing with this for some
time, I decided to repair the hole and switch fuel injection systems. |
Bill Wallace and I took the lower cowl to Henry's house.
Henry is almost done building a Lancair IV-P and has done a LOT of glass
work...this is the third glass plane he's worked on. Henry had us
rout out the center of the honeycomb structure using a dremel tool with
a soft grinding head. We ground back the honeycomb on all the
surfaces on the cowl and the piece I had cut out. |
Here, Bill is using a rotary sander to feather out the
edges of the repair and rough up the surface in preparation for the
layup over the patched area. |
These are the pieces that were originally cut out and that
we are replacing. |
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| Here we are using a mixture of micro to key into the
"slots" we cut into all the pieces to be replaced. This was then
covered with a double layer of carbon fiber and peel ply. |
Once the inner layer dried, we used an oscillating sander
to smooth the outside and then laid up two layers of light glass (7 oz)
on the outside of the cowl and covered with peel ply. Once this
set, we filled with featherfill and santed. The repair is perfect!
Thanks Bill and Henry, you guys are the best! |
Henry and Bill putting finishing touches on inner layup. |
The wingtips need cutouts put in them for the Nav/Strobe
assemblies, as well as a cutout for the landing light installation kit I
bought from Bill VonDane. |
This was my initial cutout for the landing light.
The lenses were marked and cut to shape with a fiberglass cutter on the
Dremel tool. Final shape adjustments on the lenses were done
CAREFULLY on a 1" belt sander. Final fit was done by carefully
scraping a utility knife on the edges to give a nice radius to them.
They will each be fit with only two #6 stainless steel countersunk
screws, one at the top and one at the bottom. |
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| After screwing up my cutout for the Nav/Strobe assembly, I
decided to just use my sheet metal brake to bend a piece of .040 to
shape for both surfaces. This involved installing 6 nutplates on
the fiberglass and three on the aluminum piece to attach the Nav/Strobe
light. I like the way this looks! |
Here, I'm using my least favorite tool, a fly cutter, to
cut out a 2" diameter hole in the aluminum plate. This hole is for
the landing light. The hole for the Nav/Strobe assembly is
slightly smaller at 1 3/8" and was drilled using my big Unibit in the
drill press. Much easier... |
Here are the cutouts in the wingtips that the plate mounts
on. You can see the six 8-32 nutplates that are installed to mount
the plate. |
This is the view inside the wingtip. I used aluminum
heat shield to line this portion of the wingtip to protect it from heat
from the landing light. I used the glassbuilders trick of
riveting the two nutplates that secure the lenses to pieces of
fiberglass that were trimmed to fit in that area. Because the area
the nutplates needed to go was not level, I was able to use micro/milled
fiberglass to support the plates that the nutplates were riveted onto.
This allowed them to sit "level" relative to the lenses. |
Here is the finished product. |
