| Author | Message | ||
     Tom R. Hutchison (Tomhutch) |
I am working on body filling and finishing the wings at this point. I have finally found a great material for filling. Now my question for everyone is: How much filling is necessary on the wings? As you can see from the photo below I have been building up quite a bit in the areas between the ribs on the bottom skin. In the largest area there is a depth of 1/8 to 1/4 inch between the ribs and the "depression" between. Is this much filler too much? Of course who wants the weight, but will this give me problems later on? I will probably cover the area with 1 bid of light cloth. Any opinions, suggestions etc. appreciated. Tom  | ||
| jharlow |
Tom, I didn't have the same problem between the ribs. What I did have was a large area on the top and bottom of both wings along the main spar. It pulled down because of the mill fiber squish and the weight applied while bonding. I think this a problem we all have so check this out also. By feeling from the LE to TE you can feel a flat area over the spar area. Also if you feel along the fuselage above the split line and aft of the rear windows you will feel a slight flat area. The top mold that came from the Auriga group has a slight different radius than the old Wheeler bottom mold. I remember the days all to well, John | ||
| Bill Copeland (Cbros) |
Tom: Ah yes, finishing. If you are trying to get the lower side of your wings precisely straight you are really sort of wasting your time and adding unecessary weight. I say this because if you will look at any EXPRESS with full fuel tanks you will see that you will be able to tell exactly where each rib is as the lower skin will bulge significantly from the weight of the fuel. (unless you have the new wings with a thicker foam core) I personally would not recommend the application of any filler material thicker than perhaps 0.0125 inches. Any thicker than that I think you should consider layers of fiberglass. We did a good deal of work to get our wings "straight" and think it paid off in the speeds we are getting, but we were careful to take almost as much filler off as we put on and used sanding boards three to four feet long. Plus, of course, lots of elbow grease. Bill C |