March 1999

In Australia, on business & a bit of a holiday

This lay up turned out to be a nice quick job. It seems almost like painting, all the time is spent in preparation. At the end of the lay up I reviewed the manual and found that I was supposed to cut two pieces of uni 65" long. I cut one piece 67" long and easily got two pieces for lay ups at 30 degrees. I kept 2 samples, # 43 & 44 and cured at 23 c @ 48% rh with the assistance of a heating lamp.

I inspected the job this morning and all seemed to be okay. The finish was almost text book perfect. No work on the plane tonight because I have started to go to instrument pilots ground school. My partner in the 150 is going as well, so its a good excuse to get the airplane out and fly to the class.

I trimmed up the excess and pulled the core out of the jib blocks. I use a 2.5 meter, 50x50 mm piece of aluminum angle for checking alignment of pieces. On one edge I have stuck some sanding paper and this is perfect for getting a nice straight edge on things like flaps and ailerons.

I set up the other jig blocks and glued it in place. The core still had the correct wash-out in it and I was anxious to get it glued down again so it would not get the chance to twist.

No building tonight. I have joined the local Civil Air Patrol. I am still trying to fathom this group out to determine if they are worth contributing time to.

Saturday 20

I had hoped to get the second side done last night, but it wasn't to be. I have heard of many builders having problems with the ailerons warping, and people recommending that you get all of the lay ups done as quickly as possible. This lay up was a pretty quick job, I think I cut the cloth, did the lay up and got out of the workshop in less than 3 hours. I saved two samples but unfortunately one had an exothermic reaction. Saved sample # 45, used local heating 28c @ 31% rh.

I made sure that I had the cores weighted down at every opportunity until the structure was completed.

I spend most of the day in the workshop today. First order of business was to clean up the edges of the lay up and then give the workshop a clean up. Once I had the cut out table cleaned off I cut my bid for the hinge lay up. I have been reading a number of reports on the europa@avnet.co.uk news group about problems of the aileron cracking near the hinge area. Many people suggested putting on an extra layer of bid in the hinge, so I decided to do this also. I cut away the foam for the hinge, and made sure that I had enough clearance to allow for the extra layer of cloth.

I think that the lay up is best described as tedious. I wet each layer out on cling wrap first and got all of the excess out before applying the cloth. I had Jenny helping me, quite frankly I don't know how people manage without an extra pair of hands. The lay up came out really well with very few bubbles, and hardly any excess resin . I saved samples 46 & 47, cured at 22 c @ 45% rh

 No building, EAA chapter meeting

 I cleaned up hinge area and started cleaning out the end close outs. Glue had seeped down the crack, so it was a long job again.

Well it was another one of those gorgeous spring days so there was nothing for it but to go flying. We decided on a cross country out to the west to the Mississippi River, then upstream to the Wisconsin River and overland back home. It was a nice clear day and we did the first leg to Dubuque (120nm) at 8500 feet. I felt like I was almost there by the time our C150 got to altitude, but the winds were more favorable at that height. We fueled up at Dubuque, flew up stream to Prairie Du Chen and stopped for lunch. A16kt to 23 kt cross wind made things interesting, but I guess I must be getting better at it. By the time we flew up the river and home I had another 4.3 hours in the log book, and I was ready for an early night!

Well today was not good for flying so I juggled my weekend perfectly. I finished cleaning up the close-outs ready to do one end. I made a small sanding block to get the surface smooth and level and I cut a small fillet along the edges with my Dremmel to make a small micro corner. I cut enough cloth to do both ends but I decided to tackle the one with the bracket in it. The manual suggests that after you put the first layer in, you put the bracket on some cling wrap and put the next two layers on it. I think you are then supposed to put the whole sodden mess into the flange and line it up.

I could not really see how this was going to work so I floxed in the bracket, aligned it and then put two layers of cloth over the top. It seemed to be fairly straight forward, and turned out fairly nice. I saved sample #49, 26c @ 44% rh.