|
|
 |
After so much time spent building with aluminum, fiberglass
construction was a little daunting. Mike at Fiberlay in Seattle helped
us with instructions, resources, and tips.
After we had the mold waxed (6 coats!) we assembled our materials.
Gel coat, resin, cloth, mat, PVA release agent, MEKP catalyst, brushes, a
respirator, gloves, and plenty of space. |
| The first step was to brush in the gel coat. We should
really have sprayed in the gel coat to get a thick, even coat, but that
requires a special spray gun that we did not have available. Two coats
would have been a good idea but sometimes, when you put two layers that
catalyze at different times they can interfere with each other and wrinkle.
On this piece we tried one coat.
We got the gel coat from Spectrum
Color in Auburn, WA. They color-match tints and shades so that the
fiberglass pieces can have integral color rather that color that is just
spray painted on. |
 |
 |
Then we laid in fiberglass mat and cloth and saturated it with resin.
The idea is to use just enough resin as any extra adds weight but no
additional strength. You daub, press, brush, or roll the surface until
all of the glass is saturated.
|
| |
|
|
Here the team examines the part fresh out of the mold. We used water
to dissolve the PVA mold release agent so that we could get it out.
|
 |
 |
There is a lot of trimming to be done. In production
fiberglass work when the entire layup cures at the same time, you can
usually catch it at an intermediate point and trim it with a knife. As
we laid this up, the first layers were cured while the top layers were still
wet and we had to wait until later to trim the whole thing at once.
|
| |
 |
 |
The first fitting shows us that two haves match and
fit the fuselage. One concern, that the material shrinks about 2% as
it cures, proved groundless. If there was shrinkage, the cowling still
fits. |
|
We just had to try the propeller on to see what it would look like.
We still have a lot of fit and finish to accomplish. We need to
create mounting points for the cowling that will connect it to the
fuselage, connect the top to the bottom, and allow for both secure
fastening and quick disassembly if we need to access the engine
compartment. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you would like to contact us please email Mr. Smith
or Mr. Steed We would really like to hear from you.
|
