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Re: Tailplane Layup

Subject: Re: Tailplane Layup
From: Tom & Cathy Friedland <twfcaf@nas.com>
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 18:52:52
Steve  I agree with Lloyd   If you would like a flap with 1 degree washout
instead of 1.4 degree,  please hollar..

Tom Friedland  A 079

GERAINT L OWENS wrote:

> >Steve "Does all this rebuilding count as putting together 2 aircraft?"
> Genotte
>
> If only you knew Steve!   Even though my PFA (read EAA) inspector passed my
> first (Mk.1) fin, I couldn't stand the sight of it - it was just_so_ugly -
> that I bought another fin from Europa and made it up.   Then, a year or two
> later, I went and bought the XS fuselage kit which has its own fin.   Anyone
> want to buy a couple of fins?   One perfect and one much less so!  PS:
> thought your rubber band idea was excellent.
> Regards
> Lloyd Owens
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Genotte <gopack@sprintmail.com>
> Date: 20 February 1999 23:01
> Subject: Re: Tailplane Layup
>
> >Lloyd,
> >
> >Excellent tips.  Thank you.  I wasn't running any heat source near the
> layup,
> >but I do have the shop at 23 Centigrade (75 F.)  However, I only use one
> batch
> >of epoxy per layup so there's less chance of "old" epoxy getting tossed
> into
> >the mix.
> >
> >BTW, as I look back I'm thinking I may have caused the cloth to pull away
> while
> >I was repairing two small raised areas.  I wasn't sure how long it took to
> heat
> >up the cloth to get it plastic, so I had my heat gun (read: hair dryer) on
> the
> >area for several minutes.  I may have transferred so much heat to the area
> that
> >I raised the forward section of glass without noticing it.  That would
> explain
> >why neither my wife nor I noticed the "long" run of raised glass until this
> >morning.
> >
> >As for the fix, I went really low tech.  I used about a dozen wide rubber
> >bands, arranging most along the width of the piece and the rest stretching
> from
> >TP-6 to the leading edge of the core.  (Think of Gulliver being tied down
> by
> >the Lilliputians; same image.)  I hit the area with some heat and watched
> the
> >high spots pull down under the tension of the bands.  Once I get my
> replacement
> >syringes from Aircraft Spruce, I'll inject some epoxy into the area to fill
> the
> >small void space left behind.  It ain't perfect, but it looks like it'll
> fly.
> >
> >Regards,
> >
> >Steve "Does all this rebuilding count as putting together 2 aircraft?"
> Genotte
> >
> >GERAINT L OWENS wrote:
> >
> >> >Has anyone else had a similar problem?  I'm keen to hear any suggestions
> >> >you may have concerning repair.
> >>
> >> Hi Steve
> >>
> >> Not sure about how to repair, but I caused the same problem to my own
> work
> >> in the early (and not so early!) days by 'force drying' lay-ups with too
> >> strong a heat (ie. a 3kW fan heater).   What happens is that the air
> under
> >> the lay-up expands with the heat and causes the kind of problem you
> >> describe.   I am now careful_not_to use too strong a heat, or to position
> >> the fan heater far enough away so as to not cause the problem.   This
> may,
> >> or may not, be what caused your problem; but this advice may save you
> (and
> >> others) learning the hard way.   Other glassing tips:
> >> 1   don't keep working the epoxy once it starts to get warm or go thick.
> >> Throw it away, and mix up some more.   Fresh epoxy is so much less
> viscous
> >> than 10/15 minute old epoxy and is _much_ less likely to cause bubbles in
> >> your lay-up.
> >> 2   once you've been using your brush for 10/15 minutes, don't squeeze
> >> excess epoxy from the brush into your current epoxy cup.   This 'old'
> epoxy
> >> will cause the fresh epoxy to go off quicker.
> >> 3   for the same reason, don't keep using the same brush on a long
> lay-up.
> >> Brushes are cheap compared to your kit; so keep a handful by your side
> each
> >> lay-up ... and throw them away once they start to get a bit gunged-up
> with
> >> epoxy.
> >> 4   don't do lays ups in conditions hotter than 20/22 centigrade  (68/72
> >> fahrenheit?).   Your epoxy will go off prematurely if you do and make the
> >> work much harder.   Turn the heat up in your workshop just as you're
> coming
> >> to the last ten minutes of your lay-up ... then keep the heat up.   Just
> a
> >> few of my own tips, learned the hard way, and not found in the Europa
> >> manual.   Regards.
> >>
> >> Lloyd Owens (Bu. 097) - possibly one of the slowest kits being built!!!
> >
> >
>



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