11/30/2004

Parts !!

We have parts!! Yes, finally after 3 years, I can hold in my hand an actual part, that will be on the finished airplane. Now before you get all excited, I only made 3 parts, that were needed to help finalize some issues on the fuse. Take a look below at the latest installment of progress.

I needed the finished parts of the 2 turkey feathers, and a rudder base. So, after some PVA, you see here Dupont automotive primer shot into the molds.

Next, a very light coat of pure resin goes on the paint.

When that starts to get nice and tacky, glasswork for the parts are laid in. I used 2 layers of 6 ounce, 'S' glass, and am pleased with the strength that provides so far.

Once the part is cured, but still 'green' I trim off the extra glass. This presented an unexpected problem. When trimming the edge very carefully, I would peel up my PVA as well. Considering this is the primary protection from getting your parts glued into your molds, it is something that I need to ponder on further, because when you seam it, resin in the seam wants to stick aggressively to the mold.

But, even with that near miss, we did get the parts out. I was quite pleased with the final result of our first part making attempts.

Parts in hand, now, I start making 'keys' to go on the fuse, so that when a fuse comes out of the mold, it is ready to have the smaller parts fit right on, ensuring their correct placement, and alignment.

That work now done, the plane is taken off the jig, and prepped for the move to the paint room.

Setup and ready to finally shoot primer on the fuse. After it looking a certain way for over a year, it will be fun to see it take on a dark gray look.

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