Cover both Aileron Structures...

10/19/03 - Today, I covered the aileron structures and now have only these and one flap structure to run edge tapes on before beginning the wings.  I hope the wing/fuselage stands get here in the next week or so!

Photos today are like yesterday's, but I have a couple showing detail on covering the end of the items.  The ends require just a bit of finesse and a lot of patience if you want smooth curves.

Starting off with the fabric in place for the first aileron:

Skipping ahead, I have covered the first aileron and it's now on the horses in the background with the ends unfinished.  Here, starting on the second aileron frame:

Fabric attached at the spar:

We use a single section of fabric on flaps and ailerons.  Here, wrapped and fit into place.  I shrink the fabric only slightly and then only on the spar before running the adhesive on the top piece of fabric:

Here, showing the squared-end detail with the topside trimmed before wrapping back over the end tube.  Note that I'm using scissors, a single-edge razor blade and an Exacto-Knife for critical cuts:

Finished end with a 'first shrink' pass to tighten the fabric at the end:

Here is the opposite end, showing the curve in the tubing with the topside already trimmed and attached to the frame:

Here finished and 'first shrink' applied:

The four covered surfaces with three still requiring edge tapes:

The Super Six kit comes supplied with end caps for these structures and I installed them according to the manual, but after viewing a completed (factory built) Coyote and talking with Ed, I removed the caps before covering.

Rans doesn't use them, so I didn't either.  I think the structures look cleaner without the caps than with and there is a 'fit-issue' I was concerned about as well.

Here are a few shots of the flaps and ailerons installed onto one of my wing structures from mid-July  showing the caps installed (notice how close the spar-end of the two structures are BEFORE FABRIC):

I may try to take an evening or two in the coming week to finish the tapes on the remaining three items, but the World Series started last night (the Yankees LOST the first game if you didn't already know) and I'm quite a fan, so I might not make it back out until the coming weekend, and as I've said before, it's not a race and I enjoy each session in the shop, long or short!

More updates soon...

Last Update: 10/19/2003