Aileron fabric covering

Continued work on covering the ailerons with fabric.  Applied adhesive and then attached fabric to cover the top and bottom sides of the ailerons, then shrunk the fabric with irons as usual.  Also, similar to the flaps, we used extra material at the ends of the ailerons to cover the ends of the ailerons.  We also cut out some doily shapes using lightweight pre-shrunk fabric which will provide extra protection around the hinges and control horn.  Hours: 5

Fabric glued and shrunk on one of the ailerons

Michael cutting out some protective doilies

Prep for aileron covering

We are prepping the ailerons for covering.  We learned a few things from covering the flaps, and are taking advantage of that knowledge.  We drilled a few new holes for fabric rivets because we knew (based on experience with the flaps), that a few of the holes were going to cause rivets on opposite sides to interfere with each other.  We smoothed the edges around the new holes, and applied a little extra varnish to seal the wood in those spots. 

While doing this work, we discovered something interesting.  There was a tiny little flying creature embedded in the cured fiberglass on one of the ailerons.  Looks like a small wasp.  He will forever be a part of our flying machine.  Hours: 1.0

Wasp embedded in fiberglass

Complete Flap Fabric

The leading edge tapes on the flaps were shrunk to give a nice tight fit.  Then a coat of the thinned adhesive was put on the tape to securely attach it to the flap.  The ends were dressed around the curved surfaces, cutting a few slits to keep it from bunching.  Irons were used to smooth any bubbles and/or wrinkles.

Completed Flaps on Display

Having completed the flaps, it was a good time to clean the work space.  Ed workbench also need to be lengthened and now was a good time to complete this task.

The Just Highlander manual gives some advice on how to maximize fabric usage to minimize waste.  We took measurements of the ailerons and wings and cut the fabric for the aileron to adhere to this advice.  Hours: 5