Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Canopy fairing update

I'm plodding along on fiberglassing the canopy windscreen on my RV airplane. Like few other parts of this project, this feels like I'm walking blind in the woods. I've looked at other RVs, I've talked to other builders about the process, and yet it seems like I'm in uncharted territory. That may be because I am in uncharted territory, complicated by the fact this is a $1,200 part.

Last night I stuck the third layer of fiberglass on...

(Click for larger image.)

I've sanded the previous two layers before putting the next one down. So far, I've layed up each layer "wet." That is, on a piece of aluminum foil, I've covered the fabric with black-dyed epoxy, then placed it on the project. Others, as I understand it, put the expoxy on the previous layer, and then lay the fiberglass fabric down "dry," wetting it then by brushing the fabric to spread the underlying epoxy. Which is the preferred method? Honestly, I haven't a clue.

The only real problem I see so far is a slight bump on the right side of the plane. In that spot, I didn't trim the canopy back as far as the other side for reasons of symmetry. You can see the "bump" here:


I'm not sure whether I should put another thin layer below that bump, or just keep adding layers of ever widening amounts and then hoping it all evens out when I sand the thing.

I'm open to review and suggestions

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