Fiberglass 5

More sanding of fiberglass. The top layer of the mid section fiberglass was still soft so I removed it and sanded it down. I will add another layer another day.

Time: 1.25

Canopy, fuel tank test, seat backs, gas struts, Tailcone

Today was a day of various aspects of the build. I first sanded and added more epoxy for fill on the canopy.  I then finally tested the fuel tank again. A balloon was placed and pressure added. I then went around the seams with soap solution. No Leaks!!!

I then primed and painted the seat backs.  New gas struts were drilled. There was a notice of installing new metal gas struts in place of the plastic ones as they have had issues with plastic ones breaking.  With some help I was able to remove the stabilator and proceeded with the tailcone. Nutplates were positioned in place and ready for match drilling. The only thing is that it required a long #40 bit which I didn't have, So time to order another bit.

Time: 4.25 hrs

More epoxy added for fill.

Fuel tank test

Seat backs painted

Metal struts drilled

Tailcone nutplates ready for drilling.

Canopy Fiberglass 4

Added some epoxy and glass beads to areas of fiberglass for fill in.  No photos today.

Time: 0.5 hrs

Canopy fiberglass 3

I removed the peel ply across the front. The resin still seemed a little soft, like it didn't set up all the way. It has been 2 days so you would think it would have. I will give it a few more days and see if it hardens. I sanded the sides a little and then added resin with glass beads to fill in some of the voids. I imagine it will take several sessions of sanding and filling in order to get the desires shape.  What joys to look forward to.  This is definitely not my favorite part of the build. The metal work was a lot more enjoyable.

Time: 0.75 hrs

Canopy fiberglass 2

It was time to tackle another session of fiberglass. I first removed the peel ply from the sides. It actually turned out fairly well although there are a few areas that we will need to fill in with resin and glass beads. We worked across the front of the canopy adding fiberglass and then placed peel ply.

Time: 1.5 hrs.

Peel ply removed

Peel ply removed

Front edge fiberglass and peel ply

Front edge fiberglass and peel ply

Front edge fiberglass and peel ply

Canopy fiberglass 1

Well the dreaded day began today, the fiberglass work.  Since this was our first time doing this we didn't know exactly what to expect. I tried to learn as much as I could from watching videos before hand. I used black epoxy dye so that inside the canopy the area would be black. The first piece on each side was a little tricky. The subsequent layers seemed to go on fairly well. I then added peel ply to each side.

Time: 2.5 hrs

Left side fiberglass

Left side with peel ply

Right side with peel ply

Canopy masking and prep

I was able to complete the sanding of the foam blocks. I then used the templates to tape around the area in preparation for the fiberglass. With the help of S. we were able to get all the fiberglass pieces cut and ready.

Time: 3.75

Left Block Sanded

Left Block 

Right block

Masking area for fiberglass

Area masked for fiberglass

Area masked for fiberglass

Cutting fiberglass

Foam blocks

Started sanding the foam blocks. The front end of the left block broke so I had to reattach it. I was able to get most of the right block shaped. I will do some final shaping next work session.

Time: 0.75 hrs

Left foam block

Right foam block