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Right wing fabric covering complete... 11/29/03 - Today, I finished the fabric covering process for the first wing, and it looks GREAT! Hooray!!! What a load off my mind...sheesh! :^) After going over all tapes one more time, I trimmed, sanded, fit and drilled the aileron and flap exit covers, then ran another coat of adhesive over all required areas, including the leading edge wrap, top and bottom root skins and the trailing edge spar. The control exit covers will be match painted and installed during final assembly. Just a few photos from today's tasks follow, starting with trimming the flap cable exit cover:
Showing the aileron push-pull tube exit cover after trimming and taped in place for drilling:
Both exit covers located for initial drilling:
On the left wing, I will need to locate the flap cable exit cover just a bit farther forward, as the location described in the assembly manual puts the far-aft drilled hole for the cover into the trailing edge spar and I failed to make the decision to move the ring-seat forward when I did the initial installation. I now have to locate two additional holes in this exit cover just forward of the spar in order to be able to secure the item properly during final assembly. The slight location problem is not a major item and unless you get under my wings with a tape measure and look for the difference in the two flap cable exit covers, you won't see it. I then applied a topcoat of adhesive over the leading edge wrap, top and bottom root skins and the trailing edge spar, checked for loose tape edges ONE LAST TIME, then left the wing in the shop with the furnace set on 60° (it's about 35° outside today, making me VERY GRATEFUL to have the new furnace in the shop) to cure. I'll shut things down after maybe six hours and call it done. Here are a couple of final-final shots of the completed right wing, top and bottom:
I plan to swap-out the wing structures tomorrow and begin the pre-covering inspection (cleanup with tack cloth, re-check all hardware items, re-secure the pitot/static tube installation and associated connections) on the left wing. I also hope to get the bottom fabric sheet applied during tomorrow's shop-time. By the way...I am extremely satisfied with the outcome of the covering process for the first wing. My goal is to be able to do at minimum, the same quality of work on the left wing and the fuselage. My only real (and very minor) regret so far, is the slight location error with the flap cable exit cover and I did think about moving it forward when I initially located the ring-seat, but decided against it since I had located it according to my understanding of what the manual described. Oh well...the fabric job on my Coyote is probably not going to be an award-winner and I certainly have no plans to show it against other homebuilts, but it suits me so far and I'm working to be an honest critic of my own output. More updates soon... |
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Last Update: 11/29/2003 |
