Next we bond the lower strake to the center spar section. This is done with a thick mixture of structural adhesive in between the two parts. Since the strake skin crosses from the center spar onto the wing spar, after mating I shined a high intensity light down between, and marked and cut a line to separate the wing from the strake for removal. Also, in order to support the strake skin tightly without moving the plane we built a jib similar to the video out of all-threaded-rod and a 2″x4″ block. Be very careful to cover the board with plastic and Vaseline the rod or it’s never coming out again! Once the structural cured, we micro-glassed a radius and laid 2 ply of BID onto the strake-to-spar junction.
Next I Bondoed the nose of the strake so that I’d have a stable platform for the next set of operations. I was a little hesitant to use the Bondo, but it turns out to better in many cases than hot glue. It holds much better, and is so brittle usually a firm tap with a sharp screwdriver or chisel will easily remove it from the mated surfaces. Highly recommended.
Next the upper and lower strake-to-fuselage areas are laid up with 2 ply of BID, with a micro-glass layup anywhere there’s a sharp corner.
Now, before we can do anything with the baffles, bulkheads, and other internal work on the strake, we have to go back and repeat the tedious fitting work on the top skin. The fun never ceases…. Shampoo, Rinse, Repeat,….
Glassing Pilot Strake-to-Spar |
Pilot Strake Bondo |
Lower Pilot Stake to Fuselage Bottom Layup |
Lower Pilot Stake to Fuselage Top Layup |
Pilot Lower Strake Inner Baggage Layup |
Pilot Strake Lower Inner Baggage Lay-Up (Inside View) |
Posted By: Brett FerrellSaturday October 19th, 2002 at 8:15 PM