Well, here's the photo update for the left hand aileron work that was just completed.......
Here's how it looked from the start....
Then I just removed the remaining old fabric that was left behind.....
Because I discovered the counterweights were a bit loose, I needed to remove them and replace their attaching hardware. This was a bit of a chore because the way the ailerons were built, the access holes for the hardware were patched over. I used a Roto-Broach to cut new holes for access......
I also had to remove the old Bondo from the recesses the bolt heads were in.....
I was then able to simply remove the nuts and bolts holding the counterweights on and set them aside.
As I've mentioned before, these counterweights are made from Depleted Uranium. This is heavy stuff! The smaller of the two weights (pictured hanging on the fish scale below) was 2 pounds, 2 ounces. The larger of the two counterweights was 3 pounds, 14 ounces!
That's plenty of counterweight to prevent flutter for sure!
Next, I just needed to do some surface sanding to remove any old glue remnants.....
The more I work on this wing, the more I am amazed at all of the little details that were taken when it was built (back in 1970) to make it slick and fast. Here, they formed some balsa wood to fill in the gap needed to install the aileron linkage. Since the rod ends were still in great shape, I just opted to leave this alone and work around it..........
Before reinstalling the now clean counterweights, I applied some varnish to the mating surface of the wood where the counterweights will be mounted. This will serve as a moisture barrier and help preserve the wood........
Then I simply reinstalled the counterweights with new bolts and nuts.....
There was a very small ridge between the counterweights and the aileron, so I applied some Bondo to make the transition nice and smooth. I'm not a big fan of Bondo in many cases, as it's weight isn't always something I like to add. However, in this situation, most of the Bondo will be sanded off and the benefit of the smoothness will "out weigh" the weight of the material itself (pun intended
).......
Next, I decided that I liked the way the original builders of this wing had filled the recesses for the bolt heads on the counterweights, so I did the same......
Now, after a thorough cleaning and spraying a few cross coats of adhesive on the entire surface of the aileron, it was ready for covering....
First, I just cut out a piece of fabric large enough to cover the one side...
Then I used a lint free rag and applied adhesive to the edges of the fabric. After allowing the adhesive to cure a bit, I then went around the edges with a scalpel and removed the excess fabric........
That was followed by going over the fabric with an iron at 250 degrees. This got all of the wrinkles out and pulled the fabric nice and tight throughout.........
I then went around the edges with the modeler's iron to finish off the details........
And once that was complete, I applied the adhesive to the center portion of the fabric and that was pretty much it. I did the same to the other side and the aileron is ready for primer........
As I mentioned before, my cowlings showed up yesterday. I am utilizing the cowlings and fairings from the Sno Shoo racer and A.J. Smith has been great to work with. Their website is
http://snoshoo.com/ . There is quite a bit of fitting and trimming to do on these cowlings and such, but it's sure going to be a great addition to the airplane once that's all done! Here's what they look like now.......
So, that's all I have to update right now. I will get to work on the right aileron this week (in theory), and hope to get it done. I'm also hopeful my paint will arrive this week so that I can get the wings finished. Stay tuned.
Gary
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), I'll be able to get back to work on the racer.
, here's a quickie update.....
We will check the tracking of the shipment tomorrow, so at this point, I have no idea where the paint is.
