Wings...rebond wing root skins...aaaarrrrggghh!

08/16/03 - Well, I WAS PSYCHED for beginning my fabric work today after a bit of required setup, but got sidetracked when I noticed the top aft wing root skin had popped loose from the epoxy bond on the left wing.  After reviewing all bonded edges, I found I needed to repair another on the bottom aft right, so that was today's task.

I now have both wings up on stands curing the epoxy and no room to work (and besides, the heat index today at noon was 96°) so maybe I'll get the fabric work started tomorrow.

I did find out from Ed at Rans that the flap teleflex cables are routed AFT of the rear rib channels and installed the long aileron push pull tube and right side flap teleflex cable today before quitting for the day.

I cleaned away all traces of the bonding agent and made doubly sure every trace of anodizing was cleaned from both surfaces to be mated, but if another edge comes loose, I'm going to have to find an alternate source for the bonding agent, I guess because JB Weld is apparently not well suited for this task.

On another note, I am looking for a source for the PPG Primer/Filler product DPU217 and related components, so if anyone knows of a source, please let me know.

I received a note this morning from a potential builder and while looking for some information for my response to his questions, I was reminded that ONE YEAR AGO TODAY, my wife and I visited the Rans factory in Hays, KS for a tour and demo flight in the Super Six Taildragger and I placed my tentative order for the kit I have been working on now for about 270 hours during the last eight months.

Time really does fly when you're having fun!!! 

Very few photos today...

More updates soon...

Last Update: 08/16/2003