[TBrum]

Here's a few pictures of the sheeting for one of the wings!

One of the feedback's I received from Jack Durgan's 43% Extra 300, was that the grain of wood was visible through the covering. I noticed the same thing on my 40% Ultralight Edge when I started using Monokote (Monokote is a fair bit thinner than Ultracote and is more glossy, so it shows the grain and imperfections more).

So after doing a bunch of research, for the last 2 builds (43% E260 and this build) I've been using the following sanding method on the sheeting to give the Monokote a near-painted finish with barely any visible grain....

* Sand with 80 grit on sanding bar
* Sand with 120 grit on sanding bar
* Sand with 220 grit on sanding bar
* Spray the balsa sheeting with cheap hairspray and let dry
* Resand with 220 grit
* Final sand with 400 grit.

The trick here is the hairspray - it stiffens the grain enough that the 220 grit can cut it off! The result is a silk-smooth finish.

[TBrum]

And here's a few pictures of one of the layups under roughly 615 lbs of weight!!

As I added weight, I used a laser level to check for deflection on my workbench - the workbend only deflected 0.015", so I'll consider 15 thousandth's of an inch acceptable It's about as straight as I can get!!

Tomorrow I'll tally up the weight of the components and the amount of glue used, but I figure I only used about 6oz of Ultimate glue for this wing half, because I only applied glue to the foam core (all the webbing) and not onto the whole sheeting! Again, a lot of work, but hopefully it will pay off!

Tomorrow night I'll get into the sheeting of the other wing!

[TBrum]

Yeeehaaaa!! One wing layup is done!

I am really, really happy with the layup! It is really light, the surface is very smooth (the balsa spanned the cored foam very nicely!!) and it is very, very strong.... IMO it is stronger than a stock wing!!

You can see in the last 2 pictures on the root and tip the great bond (no airgaps) by the Ultimate glue and if you look closely, you can see the Carbon Fiber stiffeners that are now sandwiched nicely in the layup!

Total weight so far of one wing is 2lb, 4.4oz, consisting of:

11.8oz - foam core after removing 6.9oz due to the coring
2.6oz - wingtube phenolic, wingtube end-block, balsa spar extenders, Ultimate glue for this lay-up
2.1oz - approx 53ft of CF Tow + epoxy to do this lay-up
13.8oz - balsa sheeting (top and bottom)
6.1oz - Ultimate glue used to do the lay-up (glue only applied to the foam webbing, not the sheeting)

My goal was to build a set of 43% wings at only 2lbs, 8oz each (minus covering)! I think I'll come in really close around 2lbs 10oz!!!!

[TBrum]

Another big day in the shop!!

Wing sheeting laminated together, sanded with 80grit / 120grit / 220grit / hairspray / 220grit / 400grit, core prep'd, Ultimate glue applied to webbing of the foam core, lamination completed and under 615lbs of weight!!

Tomorrow I'll take it out from under the weight, edge trim it and I'll have 2 nice wing laminations that will be ready for finishing

[chris p]

hey trev, you forgot to throw the kitchen sink on there too
lol

[TBrum]

Originally Posted by chris p

hey trev, you forgot to throw the kitchen sink on there too
lol

My son came in to my workshop and you should have seen the puzzled look on his face also!! -

"Daddy - why u pile everything on u workbench?"

He thought I did it so that the floors were bare so Mommy could scrub them!!! I nearly split a gut laughing

"Oh Buddy - Mommy doesn`t wash Daddy`s workshop floor, but great thinking!!"

[TBrum]

Here's a few shots of how I glue on the root caps onto the wings. This time I tried 30Min Epoxy (instead of Ultimate Glue) and we'll see tomorrow how it turns out.

The weight of the wing + the masking tape pulled tight really does a nice job of clamping the rootcap and when it's all done, the fit to the fuse is gapless!!

[TBrum]

I have 10 days left here in Montreal before I have to put the building on hold for a bit to relocate to Toronto. So, I thought it would be best to try to get a bunch of the sheeting done while the workshop is still functional.

Here's a picture of the rudder sheeting together - tomorrow night I'll sand it and laminate it to the foam core with 3M 30NF adhesive!!

[TBrum]

On this build, I've decided to put both the front and rear bellypans together and then sheet them as one unit to avoid trying to joint them up after they are sheeted. The result will be a joint-free belly for a cleaner build.

Both pieces are glued together with Titebond wood glue.

[TBrum]

And here's the sheeting together for the massive bellypan!!

I also got the 1/16" strips glued onto the foam core. I like to put these strips on before sheeting the cores to eliminate another joint for a cleaner look.

Tomorrow I'll sand the sheeting and do the layup with 3M30NF adhesive.