Fun with fiberglass

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rmullins
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Fun with fiberglass

Post by rmullins »

Weather too bad to fly so the next best thing..add improvements.
dash.jpg
dash done.jpg
mold.jpg
IMG_20150218_173241177 (640x480).jpg
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Rick Mullins  #144
Cincinnati, Oh
moving2time
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by moving2time »

Rick, Very interesting frame work. Did it make it any easier to install the avionics? Obviously an I-Pad on the right. Looks like a portable of some sort on the left. The photos make the fairing at the Lift Strut look rather large. Interesting to see how much you pick up. I'm thinking that anything cleaning up the drag will add to your top end. How smooth is the feathering into the wing? Looks like a nice job and definitely a creative approach to cleaning the strut attachment up. When my turn comes I want to look into making a flexible boot. I would hope to keep it all below the leading edge. Your work may prove that it may not be possible. More negative weather up hear this weekend and even calling for more snow. Help! Hope you and Carl and Bob are doing well. Joe B
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rmullins
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by rmullins »

It didn't change the avionics install for me that much from my original panel but I would think the STOL guys would appreciate the extra space because they have an extra brace back there. On the left is my phone running a Android app I found just last week called Avare. Pretty cool aviation navigation software with sectionals, and it's free! The main reason I pulled the panel back was to get it closer to these old eyes.

I noticed the picture seemed to make the fairing look bigger than it is. I tried to make it as aerodynamically clean as i could (at least to my eye). I'm anxious to fly it to see if it eliminates the turbulence you can see on the fabric behind that strut. Stay tuned...
Rick Mullins  #144
Cincinnati, Oh
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gkremers
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by gkremers »

Rick,
Very nice work, I'm interested to hear how the strut fairing helps out in flight.

Most people are looking forward to the spring but I'm kind of enjoying it. The Highlander on skis has been fun this winter.

Take care
Gary
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by User GDS »

Looks great. I'm in the same mode, have a couple of projects going. (Thanks, GKremers, my wing root closure looks like yours, only not painted yet)

I'm ready to build some fairings for the aileron pulleys, and don't have much fiberglass experience. Can you recommend how to make a mold for the glass? I was thinking of taking some rigid foam and pressing it up into the pulley for a starting point, then hogging out the foam until I've got an aerodynamic shape that fits. Maybe do the lay-up over some object on a table?

thanks, Gary
GDS
So Cal
Highlander #232
Rotax 912ULS, Dynon Skyview
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danerazz
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by danerazz »

You can use almost anything as a fiberglass mold. Foam, metal, wood, plaster, concrete, clay, any inanimate objects ( tough to get live stuff to hold still until the epoxy cures). I like clay.
Dane

Paralysis by analysis
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User GDS
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by User GDS »

Thanks, I've got foam and plaster, I'll start there.

The main reason I pulled the panel back was to get it closer to these old eyes.

I go for high-tech solutions. I take a picture of the instruments with my phone, text it to my daughter with a note, "I know you're busy at work, but does everything look OK to you?"
GDS
So Cal
Highlander #232
Rotax 912ULS, Dynon Skyview
Jack L
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by Jack L »

Thanks, I've got foam and plaster, I'll start there.
GDS, I bought 3' Styrofoam balls and clay from a craft store to make a plug and mold. I cut the ball in half and glued it to a piece of melamine and used the clay to form the rest of the profile. Yellow is the plug and white is the mold.
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Tralika
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by Tralika »

Gary,
Here's a link to an EAA Hints for Homebuilders video on making molds from foam. I've used the technique several times. It's very easy, fast and cheap.

http://eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=1881622714
John Nealon
Wasilla, Alaska
Highlander Extreme #191
mykitlog.com/jnealon
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barry767
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by barry767 »

I've noticed fluttering of the lower wing fabric just aft of the wing strut attach point, indicating lots of drag there. Thinking of making a fiberglass fairing to correct this. Also considering covering my extreme gear with with a removable fairing made of .025 6061T4. Lots of drag there too I'm told. Anyone done this?
User GDS
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by User GDS »

Thanks guys, now I've got a plan.
GDS
So Cal
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Rotax 912ULS, Dynon Skyview
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Johnny C!
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by Johnny C! »

Rick,
Could you post a few more detail
photo's fo your strut fairing?

Great job!

Thanks!

John



rmullins wrote:Weather too bad to fly so the next best thing..add improvements.
dash.jpg
dash done.jpg
mold.jpg
IMG_20150218_173241177 (640x480).jpg
There are many things that happen really fast when you are
flying an airplane. There is no sense in rushing any of the others.

I would much rather be looking down at the runway, than up at it.

Duane Sorenson & Rick Norton Gone West 6/8/09. Godspeed
moving2time
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by moving2time »

Rick, Have you been able to get any time in the air with your new wing strut fairings? Any thoughts on the performance & value? We are still struggling with the weather up here. There has been a couple of flyable days but then our runways have been plowed and have dried off while you may still have snow in the grass or be to wet to get out. Looking forward to hear your assessment of the mods. Joe B
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rmullins
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by rmullins »

I haven't had a chance to fly it yet. The weather has kind of sucked here also. Our field is pretty sloppy plus I got side tracked helping a friend fix a truck he rolled.. Sorry Johnny, I wasn't ignoring you, I was just waiting until I had some more info to report. I don't know how much cleaning up the plane will help...I read a great quote that said cleaning up a plane will not turn a tractor into a racecar... but I would be pleased if I could squeeze another 10 mph out of it. A friend put me onto a website about the "Mystery Pacer". A guy claims to have sped up a Pacer from 120 mph to 155. Most of the increase he says came from cowling improvements. It made me think about the big hole under our cowlings to accommodate a nosewheel. I know Lynn Gardner closed it up and told me she could hear the difference in wind noise, but I don't know if it increased the speed. Has anyone here experimented with that?
Rick Mullins  #144
Cincinnati, Oh
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Tralika
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Re: Fun with fiberglass

Post by Tralika »

Did you read the article in Kitplanes about offsetting cooling drag with a radiator duct?

http://www.kitplanes.com/issues/32_3/bu ... 198-1.html
John Nealon
Wasilla, Alaska
Highlander Extreme #191
mykitlog.com/jnealon
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