My original plan was to start covering my wings in early August after Oshkosh and some other traveling. What that means is that I started covering the wings this past weekend.
Everything was pretty straight forward and it seemed easier to do than the fuselage. There was a lot less trimming around things.
The one thing I messed up and didn’t like was the top fabric. I tackled this alone which probably led to the problem. I had laid out the fabric in what looked like a nice, straight, and somewhat tight layout. I went ahead and attached the fabric to the trailing edge spar and then began on the leading edge. The problem showed itself when I got closer to the wing tip. I had a decent bunch of fabric on that end and I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I tried some creative cuts, but I probably did more harm than good. In the end after I shrunk everything, there is one spot that I don’t like and it is on the aft side of the wing and maybe a foot inboard of the tip bow. It’s just a big wrinkle that I don’t find pleasing, so I’m planning on making a small patch to put over it and tidy it up before laying the tapes down.
Other than that one misstep, I think it went pretty good. Between going away during the week for school and some weekend activities for the next two weekends, it will sit untouched till the second weekend of October. Next on the agenda is to get all the riveting done on the fabric before laying out patches and tapes.
(11 h)
Steve Shae
Hey Ryan!
Your fuselage looks awesome!! Interesting find regarding the humidity and effects on the paint.
I am heading towards getting the paint on my fuse this weekend — The anxiety and anticipation are keeping me up at night : )
Some info that may or may not be useful on your wings:
· When zooming in on your pictures it looks like the wrinkle you mention in your post is right at the transition from the TE spar to the tip bow. I had a little trouble in this area, but it was with the tapes. I could not get them to stick down when I was gluing, and I ended up putting a patch over this area. Maybe something similar will work for you. Maybe a little larger and more of an elongated shape instead of a simple circle?
· I used 3â tape on the TE instead of the supplied 2â. I thought the coverage was much better.
· I might be wrong, but I think Glenn might have even used 4â tape on the TE, which might go a long ways toward covering up the wrinkle in concern. I also think he used 6â tape on the LE, – I just used the 4â stuff they sent with the kit.
· I used 2â wide bias cut tape around the tip bow. â Made this a piece of cake.
· Glenn and I both had trouble with excess fabric in the curved areas of the tip bow, especially on the top — Looks like you got that part figured out pretty well!!!
A couple of pics:
The tape I couldnât get stuck down. – This is the 3â tape, and I transitioned to the 2â bias under the area covered by the wing tip.
The patch(s) I added after all the tapes were in place.
In any case, donât feel like you need to use my suggestions â Just trying to be helpfulâ¦.
Your plane is looking awesome! — Enjoy seeing your updates!
Steve
Steve Shae, PE
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