Wing Repair, Side panel painting

We transported the wing from the hangar to the garage which gave us another opportunity to use the new trailer.  The wing had previously encountered some damage when a pipe fell against it in the hangar, which put a small hole through the fabric.   We cut the ragged edges off around the hole, sanded the area, applied glue, and installed a fabric patch over the hole.  The patch area was shrunk by applying heat with an iron.  

Small patch added over the hole in the wing

Once the patch was completed, a couple coats of primer were applied to the patch with a paint brush, and once dry, the area was sanded.  We then masked off all of the wing except for the section where the patch was.  Unfortunately, our modified paint booth was too small for the wing, so the wing protruded through the large front door, which we then sealed off with plastic.  Two coats of Vestal White were shot over the patch area, and then the whole section was sprayed with a blending agent (Hot-temp reducer) to eliminate halos.  This last step was recommended by the paint manufacturer for repairs and it seems to have worked.   As usual, we ended up with some dust in the paint, so these areas were sanded and then we polished that whole section.

Wing section (with patch) repainted

We also repainted a couple of fuselage side panels (near the foot wells).  NACA ducts had been added to these panels, and our previous attempt to paint them outside with a small paint gun did not turn out well, so we just sanded them and reshot them with paint in the paint booth.  We still need to fix a few issues (as usual) with dust in the paint, but overall they are looking decent.  The bottom of these panels will eventually be painted orange.  Hours: 21

Painting top section of side foot-well panel

Fuselage tapes

We finished installing the last of the tapes on the fuselage.  This included the long tapes along the bottom edges of  the right and left sides, a couple of smaller tapes near the footwell, a horizontal tape along the bottom edge of the firewall, and the tape along the back of the vertical stabilizer.  Hours: 10.5

Tapes along bottom edge, and front of footwell added

Taping completed on sides of fuselage

Tape added along back edge of vert. stabilizer

Vert stabilizer with all finishing tapes installed

More Fuselage Tapes

We continued our work on the finishing tapes for the fuselage.  We installed a tape above the left window, several tapes around both door openings, and also applied 3" tapes around the top and front of the vertical stabilizer.  This included a small section of special bias tape which conforms nicely to the front curve of the vertical stabilizer.  We actually ran out of 3" tape during part of this job, but had some extra 4" tape, so we trimmed an inch off with pinking shears to make our own 3" tape.  Lastly, we applied glue for the two long tapes at the bottom edge of the fuselage, but didn't install those tapes yet.  Hours: 7.5

Taping around this window is complete

Tapes around door opening installed

Taping on top & front of vert. stab, includes piece of bias tape

Fuselage Finishing Tapes

We've been spending a lot of time doing various finishing tapes around the fuselage  We applied glue and installed the fabric finishing tape on the following areas

• Left and Right Side Stringers
• Around the Baggage door
• The Top Stringer that goes from the Turtledeck to the Vertical Stabilizer
• Along the back edge of the Turtledeck opening
• The bottom stringer on the bottom of the fuselage
• Various small tapes on the bottom of the fuselage near the empennage 
• Top longerons
• Front bottom of fuselage

Hours: 12.5

Tapes applied around Baggage Door

Tapes applied top Longeron and Side Stringer

Tape applied to the bottom Stringer

Tapes added to bottom Empennage area

Fuselage fabric and antenna ground planes

We made some more good progress this past week.  Fabric doilies were installed over the plastic rudder cable fairings, and three lower finishing tapes were applied to the lower side of the tail.

Tail (upside down) with add'l tapes and a rudder cable fairing doily

Two 8"x8" thin aluminum sheets were installed at the bottom of the fuselage.  These are ground reference planes for two antennas (transponder and ADS-B) that will be installed at a later time. 

Aluminum sheet installed for transponder antenna

Bottom side, large protective doily over antenna ground plane

3 finishing tapes were installed around the landing gear opening, and 5 more short tapes were applied under the footwell area.

Front fuselage (upside down) with tapes applied under footwell area

Finishing tapes around landing gear pass-thru tunnel (fuselage still upside-down)

Lastly, 18 finishing tapes (1" width) were installed along both sides of the fuselage, in the vicinity of the door openings.   Hours: 12

Zig-zag pattern of the finishing tapes installed near the door openings

Fuselage covering work

Installed ten protective fabric doilies on the tail at various locations such as the attachment points for the flying wires and the horizontal stabilizer.

One of the tail doilies installed

Also installed protective doilies around the nose wheel bracket attach points, plus a few alternate main gear attach points that would be used if the plane is ever converted to a tail-wheel.  Also installed a grommet and doily for the header tank drain opening in the bottom of the fuselage.

Two doiles at nose wheel bracket attach points

We spent a bit of time determining exactly where to place the gascolator, as we want to ensure it's placed at the lowest point along the fuel run, and want to keep the fuel-line routing as clean as possible.  The location we chose is beneath the passenger seats.  A grommet and doily were installed in the fabric at the location where the gascolator drain will protrude out the bottom of the fuselage.

Gascolator installed, with hole in fuselage beneath it

Ten additional tiny patches/doilies were also placed on the fabric at the landing gear attach brackets locations (inside surface of fabric).  These were mainly placed there to plug up some small air gaps that still existed around those brackets.

Small patches added at gear attach points to prevent air filtration

We installed plastic fairings and doilies at the points where the rudder cables exit the fuselage.  Although we spent a lot of time lining these up to get it right the first time, we didn't.  We tested it out by installing the rudder and cables (temporarily), and then watched the cables on both sides as the rudder was moved to the left and right.  The cables and fairings worked great for "most" of the rudder travel, but we had a problem at the full left and right positions because the cables were rubbing the fairings slightly.   We didn't want any interference, so decided to remove the fairings and do it over again.  Before we removed the fairings, we installed patches on the inside over those locations just to ensure that the fabric would not stretch and mess up the fabric on the right or left sides.  We then removed the fairings, cleaned up the glue, and reinstalled the plastic fairings.   Still need to add doilies over these.   Hours: 15

Rudder cable fairing installed

Fuselage Fabric, Inspection Rings, Doilies

Several updates since the last posting.

We shrunk the fabric for both left and right sides of the fuselage to 300 degrees F.  We opted to stop at that temperature and not go any higher because the fabric was plenty taut, and we noticed (like other builders) some minor deflections (scalloping) in the fuselage tubes so didn't want to create any unnecessary strain on the fuselage by shrinking to 350 degrees. 

We also made some custom 5" aluminum inspection rings (5" outer diameter, and about 3.75" inner diameter) for both sides of the vertical stabilizer to allow for easy access to the elevator bolts and control fork.  These rings are larger than standard inspection rings to make it easier to access those parts and still have the necessary movement needed to control the elevator.  We spent a little bit of time bending these aluminum rings into shape so that they would sit relatively flush against the curving surface of the vert. stabilizer.  We actually had to remake one of these rings because it didn't fit flush enough against the fabric and started lifting away from the fabric in a few spots after gluing, and it then got bent out of shape a bit when we removed it.  But overall, this was not a big problem and was easy to fix.  After gluing the rings in place, we cut out the inside fabric, and attached doilies on top.  The doily fabric was wrapped inside the hole which finished off the inside hole edge nicely. 

Elevator access holes

Two additional plastic inspection rings were also installed (with doilies), one on the bottom for access to one of the servos for the autopilot, and another on the side for access to the ELT.

Inspection ring for easier access to the ELT

Two plastic grommets were installed on the fuselage bottom for pass-thru holes that are intended for landing light wiring, and doilies were likewise installed over these grommets.

Grommet for landing light

Two thin aluminum ground plane panels (each was 8" square) were made for the transponder antenna and ADS-B antennas that will be installed on the bottom of the plane. Holes were drilled for installation, and some glue was applied to the surface. 

Two antenna ground planes (transponder and ADS-B)

Lastly, two 3" round protective doilies were cut out and and installed at the handle location on the right side of the fuselage.   Hours: 11.0

Fabric Shrinking and Baggage Opening

We shrunk the fuselage fabric to 275F.  This tightened the fabric up nicely.  We then glued the perimeter of the baggage opening.  The opening fabric was then cut away and trimmed to give the correct glue overlap.  And finally the four sides were glued down.  We'll shrink the fabric to the remaining temperatures once the baggage door opening is completely dry.   Hours: 1.5

Baggage Door Opening in Fabric

Fuselage Covering

We started covering the left side of the fuselage.  Due to our previous "recovery" we had to order additional fabric from Aircraft Spruce.  When we placed the fabric on the fuselage we quickly became seriously concerned that Aircraft Spruce had short changed us.  We measured what we received and sure enough, we were 0.2 yards short.  Luckily it was "JUST" enough but we were able to make it work.

We had to locate a critical cut in the fabric where the rear aircraft movement handle protrudes.  We asked the other builders on Facebook and WingsForum about how to proceed.  We took all the comments and came up with a hybrid method.  We created a patched that fit on the inside of the handle.  We marked the location and cut a slit.  We also cut additional fabric around the protruding handle tubing.  The fabric was  slipped over the handle.  We placed the fabric patch on a piece of wax paper and applied 3 layers of adhesive. Once dried, the patch was put on the back side of the slit that wsa cut and then glued into place.  The wax paper was removed when the patch glue dried.  We then secured the fabric around the handle with adhesive.

We proceeded to trim the fabric and glue the edges down around the perimeter of the left fuselage.  Extra care had to be taken around the curved area on the vertical stabilizer.  When the perimeter was completely glued, we went back over the seams with a low temperature iron to make sure everything was secured completely. We finally cut the left windows opening, wrapping the excess fabric around to the backside, securing it with glue and finally finishing it off with an iron.  Hours: 11

Handle with Patch

Back side of handle with Patch

Window Openings Complete

Fuselage ready for Shrinking.

Fabric install on right side of fuselage (recovery)

We ran into a little problem when covering the right side of the fuselage with fabric.  Everything seemed to be going well, but after shrinking the fabric, we noticed that the top aluminum stringer was severely warped (scalloped) in the direction that the fabric was shrunk.  After looking into this in more detail, it appears that the mistake we made was to completely shrink the right-side fabric before covering the left side, which caused the top aluminum stringer to bend in the direction that it was pulled.  We could have just covered the left side in hopes that shrinking that side would pull everything back to normal, but we also figured that the odds of this actually working out right and looking good were pretty darn low.  Both sides really need to be shrunk at the same time so that there is no sideways force on the top stringer. 

With a heavy sigh, we decided a do-over was the right way to fix this.  We pulled out a couple of razor blades and cut out the entire piece of fabric on the right side, pulling off the fabric from the tubes where it was glued.  Doing this released the tension on the stringer, and it thankfully returned to its original (straight) shape.  We then cleaned up the glue, reapplied new glue, and started all over with a new sheet of fabric.  Overall, this went quicker than we expected and cost us a little over a week of work, plus about $90 in replacement fabric (including shipping which is not cheap).  Just chalk this one up as another learning experience.  The good thing is that the 2nd time around, we did a nicer job of covering around the window opening because we had already done it once and had some good experience.  Once the right fuselage fabric was glued down and the edges were ironed, we did a slight shrink, just enough to smooth it out so that we had a nice surface for attaching the left fuselage fabric, but not enough to cause the stringer to deform.  

Next, we applied more glue in preparation for installing the fabric on the left side of the fuselage.  Hours: 11.5

Removing the old fabric from the right side of the fuselage

New piece of fabric installed (fuselage is rotated, so Rt side is facing down in this pic)

Right Fuselage Fabric Covering

We are in the process of covering the right side of the fuselage.  We applied U500 glue to all the perimeter tubing and also around the rear window openings and baggage door opening.  Next we laid out a large sheet of fabric while the fuselage was rotated passenger side up, and cut it to approximate shape.  We tacked the fabric down to the perimeter tubing with a little glue to hold it in place, and then we measured and trimmed the fabric to fit.  We glued the edges down while wrapping the fabric around the tubing, except for the region where the fabric overlapped the lower fuselage fabric, in which case we ensured we had at least 1" of overlap.  We still have to do some ironing, but so far, so good.  Hours: 9.5

Michael stretching fabric over fuselage

Right side glued down around perimeter

Minor fabric work around gear pass-thru

We finished up a little bit of fabric work around the opening for the landing gear.  We added a few doilies that were missing around some of the smaller steel tubes, and ironed them to smooth out any wrinkles after the glue had dried.  Hours: 2.0

Bottom fuselage fabric

This past week, we made good progress on covering the lower fuselage.  We applied multiple coats of glue to the tubing at the bottom of the fuselage, then cut a long piece of fabric.  We tacked the fabric to the edges of the fuselage, and then cut the fabric out so that we would have at least 1" extra fabric around all the edges (as required).  We then wrapped it and glued it to the tubing by applying a thinned coat of glue as usual.

Once all the perimeter was glued, we used irons to get out any kinks and wrinkles around the perimeter.  Then, we shrunk the fabric in 3 stages to tighten it like a drum.  Pretty happy with how it came out.  Hours: 7.5

fabric draped over bottom of fuselage

Michael peeking through the future landing gear opening

Ed shrinking fabric

Fabric on lower fuselage glued down and shrunk

Prep for Fuselage Covering

In preparation for covering the bottom of the fuselage, we are taking care of things that would be more difficult to do once the fabric is in place.  Some of the rudder pedal bolts will be difficult to access once the covering is completed, so we torqued the rudder pedal bracket bolts to the correct specification, and marked it with orange Torque-Seal.

Rudder pedal bolts torqued and marked

We also fastened some of the wiring that runs to the ELT more securely, and added protective plastic guards to aluminum metal edges to protect against inadvertent chafing if the wire should contact it.  In addition to this, we also torqued and marked the bolts that secure the ELT to it's tray.

Hours: 2.5

ELT wiring secured

Fabric for baggage door opening

We added a little fabric around the baggage door opening that makes a nice little shelf area for the transition into the baggage compartment. Hours: 3.5

Fabric around baggage door opening

Landing gear opening, baggage opening, tail access plate

Haven't taken the opportunity to append the blog for a while, so here is a consolidated update.

We ironed the fabric for the landing gear opening to tighten up the fabric that was previously glued down.  We then created several unique doilies for the openings in the fabric for the many protrusions that pop through the fabric in the landing gear area., then glued them down. Also applied a fabric finishing tape to one of the seams.

We found a few additional small unpainted spots on the fuselage that had a bit of rust, so cleaned them up, then applied epoxy paint to protect the areas.

Holes were drilled to accommodate the bottom access plate for the tail.

Lastly, two small brackets were made for the latches that will keep the baggage door closed.  The lower bracket slipped while drilling the second hole which messed up the alignment, so we decided to  fix this by shifting the bracket down a bit and redrilling.

Hours: 8

Top view of fabric around the landing gear

Holes drilled for baggage door bracket.

Fabric covering of landing gear opening

We are in the process of covering the area around the landing gear, primarily for the purposes of prevening air infiltration around the openings for the Grove landing gear.    We first attached a flat piece that will sit right above the landing gear (using Superflite U500 adhesive) and shrunk it in stages until nice and taut.

 Next we started working on the two angled side pieces.  These pieces are much trickier because of all the strange shapes and protrusions, and everything seems to get in the way (including the floor for the baggage area)... but we have an approach that seems to be working and have made some good progress.  The fabric for those side pieces has been cut to shape and mostly glued into place. We still need to take out some wrinkles before shrinking the fabric.
Hours: 7

Fabric work around landing gear area

Fabric work around landing gear area II