> Can anyone suggest how much to allow for painting when fitting
> flaps/ailerons etc. We have sanded back the upper wing skins
> and rear close outs so that the flaps and ailerons do not catch,
> but how much is painting likely to affect this clearance?
>
> Regards
> paul stewart
>
Paint mfrs generally say target is about 4 mils, w/o hinting how to
measure that! So worst case with a clear coat system is -- including
primer but which needn't be 4 mils -- a total of 12 mils, or less than
1/64"/half an mm. So, if your clearance looks minimal so that paint
is a factor, I'd say there's not enough.
Plastic things alter dimensions over time (but not like we do!), and
temperature/aerodynamics/wear have their effects. I finally fixed an
interference issue re a plastic fairing/control surface on the AA-5,
causing only cosmetic paint damage. There was always some gap there
on the ground in usual weather, but too little to me visually, and
complicated to fix. But temperature/aerodynamics I guess came into
play. Others may have in-service exp for the Europa on this, but
1/16" seems like bare minimum to me.
Reg,
Fred F.
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