6/11/2007

Prototype Fuselage Underway

At this point the fiberglass 'shells' are complete and laying in the molds. Below are the shots of this process. The steps here are the same I used on the smaller parts described earlier. I will say that the complexities of timing this lay-up are quite difficult. I have a window of 2.5 to 3 hours max, to get subsequent layers of cloth and resin down, to get a good chemical bond up through the layers. This can get very busy as you work to keep all sections of the mold lay-up going at the same time.

Below are some shots of the lay-up process

Mold shot with PVA, and ready to be put to work.

Automotive Dupont primer down first.

Then a thin layer of resin and carbon tow around the corners.

First layer of glass going in.

Now carbon in certain places.

Lastly, another layer of fiberglass on top of the carbon.

I'm trying to 'guestimate' where I think I'll need extra strength, based on the shape, and on where planned formers will go. I won't know the success of this guessing until the prototype comes out and we find out how strong it is.

Next up is designing, and fabricating all the former structure that will go in this monster. Gear mounts, engine mounts, and general structure will all have to be engineered. I could not really start on these until I had the shells laying in the molds, providing the exact thickness and therefore the sizes needed for the inside parts.

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