Category Archives: Fuselage

Time: 6 Hours

When I came back to the shop the next day I found out that the epoxy I applied did not set up completely for some reason. Not sure what I did wrong but this was a problem! So I grabbed some 80 grit sandpaper and sanded it all off which was a pain as the epoxy just gummed up the paper. After that was all done a cleaned up my mess and redid I the layup. 

This time all went well and the epoxy set up perfect. I needed to find a sanding block that would work for the shape of the bottom of the windscreen. I went to a couple of stores to find something and ended up at a store called 5 below. There I found a foam log used for yoga and bought it for $4 and took it back to the shop. The shape was perfect and I cut a slice of the end and quartered it. With this new block I stuck some self adhesive sandpaper to it and started shaping the fairing. Man did this work perfect! 

I still had some spots to fill but the shape was almost perfect. Before I started filling the areas I decided to mark, drill and rivet some blind rivets through the fairing and the top skin. These are optional per the plans but I figured they couldn’t hurt. 

I mixed up some more epoxy and filled all the areas that needed touch up as well as covering the rivets. The next day insanded those spots down and cleaned up all the edges where it met the tape. So the big reveal! Peel the tape off and see how it looks! 

I had a few larger pin holes that I filled with some Super-Fill and will sand those down tomorrow. Then it will be pin hole filling time

Time: 4 Hours

I needed to add some filler between the lower forward sides of the fairing where my build ups meet the aluminum. I mixed up some resin and flox start and applied it to create a nice transition. I then added one layer of cloth that I had wetted out to add strength to this filler. Once I had the shape where I wanted it I added ply peel over the area and added resin to get it nice and smooth. 

After this cured up I removed the ply peel to reveal a nice smooth buildup that needed very little sanding. 

After the little bit of sanding and clean up I mixed up some resin and micro balloons along with black pigment to start the shaping process. My goal was to use a curved piece of aluminum that I found looked good and use it to shape the epoxy. My plan was to mix up everything and apply it to a good thickness and then scrape away the excess with the shaper I made. Then I would remove the top layer of orange electrical tape that had overlapping epoxy on it. 

One step complete and many more to go. I will let this cure overnight and sand it out tomorrow. Then I will apply another layer filling any voids and continuing to build it up to the final shape. Not sure if this is the best process but it seems to be working. 

Time: 4 Hours

Once the carbon fiber was cured I got to sanding the entire surface especially at the leading edge so that it tapered down to the windscreen. I also added blind rivets to the lower edge of both sides to prevent the faring from separating from the aluminum, or at least help, as I have read other builders have had cracks in the paint at this location.

Lots of sanding followed by lots of sanding. More to come!



Time: 2 Hours

I decided that five layers wasn’t going to be enough sickness for my liking on the windscreen fairing. So I added two more layers of carbon fiber on top of the existing fairing after sanding all of the surfaces to prep them.  Using a technique that Lee taught me made this process fairly easy, and I laid one long length from left to right as one piece.

This will give me a total of seven layers four of which are carbon fiber. I’m hoping this will give enough strength to prevent cracking in the future.