Now that the bottom surface of the wing was glassed, I installed the remaining portions of the jigs...
Before flipping the wing over, I sanded the leading edge smooth... better to do it now than later when it will be upside down on the bench...
I then flipped the wing so the top surface faced up...
I removed these "bumpers" I had installed earlier. I put them there to protect the LWA2 and LWA3 pucks just in case the wing ever hit the bench during the flipping process... I didn't want the aluminum pucks to pop off...
I then focused my attention to aligning the jigs and making sure everything was straight and level. I used a digital inclonometer to shim the jigs and assure no twist.
I then removed the peel ply from the shear web...
Sanded the shear web clean.. and installed the dam onto FC1's leading edge... again, I used a scrap foam piece instead of lumber... I drove a 3" screw on the end of the dam and on the end of FC1.. and tied a rubber band around the screws to hold the dam in place...
I also stuck a bunch of toothpicks on the outboard end of the dam where it meets with FC4..
And a stripe of tape on the bottom of the dam... I forgot to add duct tape as a release mechanism on the forward face of the dam.. this caused a little difficulty later on, but not too much trouble...
I then prepped the area for surgery...
Stuck scrap pieces of foam on the ends to hold the 3" UNI tape overhangs...
Also on the outboard tip...
Using the same calculator I created for the bottom spar cap... I calculated all of the 3" UNI tape lengths I needed for this layup (including the 3 additional plies as called out on CP#25) as follows:
Ply 1: 142" long
Ply 2a: 142" long
Ply 3: 119" long
Ply 4: 90" long
Ply 5a: 61" long
Ply 6a: 39" long
Ply 7: 20" long
Plus the additional 3 plies:
Add 1 ply B.L. 23 to B.L. 140, plus 1 ply B.L. 33 to B.L. 92, plus 1 ply B.L. 40 to B.L. 78.
Therefore:
Ply 2b: 121.9" long
Ply 5b: 61.2" long
Ply 6b: 39.4" long
I then calculated the distance each ply should begin as measured along the cap trough and the distance where the tip should end (as measured from the outboard tip in). The sum of these 3 numbers should always equal the distance of the spar trough ~139.8".
Inches from inboard tip + inches length of ply + inches from outboard tip =139.8"
Ply 1 --> 0 + 142 + 0
Ply 2 --> 0 + 142 + 0
Ply 3* --> 0 + 121.9 + 17.9
Ply 4 --> 0 + 119 + 20.8
Ply 5 --> 6 + 90 + 43.8
Ply 6* --> 10 + 61.2 + 68.5
Ply 7 --> 12 + 61 + 66.7
Ply 8* --> 17 + 39.4 + 83.3
Ply 9 --> 18 + 39 + 82.6
Ply 10 --> 24 + 20 + 95.6
* denotes it is one of the additional plies stated on CP#25.
Summary:
I precut all my 3" uni tape plies accordingly...
So I labeled where the start of each ply should go (measured from the inboard root)... and also labeled where each ply should end (measured from the outboard tip)...
I then painted plain epoxy to the shear web top surface... and added a small amount of micro to the edges...
Nothing new here... UNI tape goes on... red thread gets removed... crossing strands get pulled out... Elle wasn't available to help me with this layup so I had to do this one solo.. man was that not fun!!
Ply after ply... it slowly started to build thickness...
I've had bad experience in the past where the protective tape is tricky to remove post-cure. So I took all the protective tape off while it was still wet... and peel plied the entire cap with 3" peel ply...
I then laid wax paper over the peel ply...
And scrap foam pieces with weights to make sure the cap cures nice and packed...
That's SIX spar caps down... 2 to go!! (Two were for the top and bottom of the center section spar... two were for the top and bottom of the canard... this completes two for the top and bottom of the right wing... and two more to go for the top and bottom of the left wing!) Oy gevalt!!
14 comments:
Fantastic... Inspiring to say the least. Looking forward to the next installment.
Excellent
Your documents are as precise as inspiring.
At the begin of some of your video a 3D rendering is available and also phantom views. Do this mean that you have e semi-compleate 3D project of the plane? (i'm not able to find out original opencanard source file).
I've just completed a Rans S7 and I'm dreaming on something different but builded up using new technologies (such as sculpture robots).
Curious to see next steps.
Thanks
Andrea - Italy
Hey Ary,
I admire you craftmanship and you diligence. Right now I"m living vicariously through your efforts as I scour the internet for information for my own adventure. I really enjoy getting to know the process of construction that you show in such detail. You by far are one of the top 5 builders (IMHO). Keep it going!!
Hello Ary,
Thank you for showing us your passion. I am living vicariously through your work as I scour the internet learning as much as I can before I begin. You truly are one of the top builders on the net. Keep it going!!!
Hello Ary,
Just wanted to give you a big thumbs up and encourage you to keep going. Your doing an excellent job. I am beginning my journey of information gathering and seeing high quality work is very motivational. I am living vicariously through you build!!
Hey Ari, when is your next update due? I keep checking in but see nothing since November. Very muh enjoy following your build.
Martin
Hey Ari, when is your next update due -nothing since November? I very much enjoy following your build.
Martin
Hi Martin,
I apologize for the delay. I am currently planning to move from California to Florida where I will be working on the airplane close to full time. You won't see any new posts for another month or two, but once I get back in the garage, it will be GO GO GO!!! Thank you for following the build and glad you are enjoying it!
-Ary
Hi Ary,
No need to apologise. I didn't think for a second that you had abandoned your build, but glad to hear that you will be able to focus on the build more full-time once you've made the move. I've always said to myself that if I were ever to consider building myself that I would want to give myself 1-2 years at the end to focus on it full time so as to break it's back.
Good luck with the move and I look forward to following your updates once back into it.
Martin
Hi Ary
Great documentation of your project. I've been looking at kit planes since I watched the "A Plane is born" TV series and discovered that the price isn't quite as horrendous as most people would suppose and that getting a Pilots license wouldn't be too hard either.
Have you got a total cost estimate in mind for the EZ - it looks like you could spend $25,000 on engine and avionics alone without much effort. I spent $4000 NZD on a spray job for a set of DIY speakers recently. I'm a big Rutan fan and look forward to seeing more updates.
Best thing about all kit builds is spreading the cost over the duration of the build so that it doesn't hurt so much :-)
Cheers
Steve
your build is awsome...i just had a question about how you used waxpaper on the top spar cap and not plastic wrap.shouldnt there be concern that the wax somehow can leach onto the spar cap resin and maybe cause a delamination with the wing skin and possible wing failure?...other than that your build blog is so cool...thankyou
Thanks for your comment Keone! I used peel ply on the spar cap first – it is not wax paper directly onto the spar cap. I placed scrap foam panels on top of the spar caps while they cured to make sure they would cure nice and even and flush with the airfoil contour. In order to prevent the foam panels from sticking to the peel ply, I placed wax paper between the peel ply and the scrap foam panels. When it comes time to glass the top surface skin, I will remove the peel ply and lightly sand the spar cap. Lightly sanding the spar cap is a way of “resetting” the surface and making sure it is ready for a glass-to-glass bond. No wax paper particles will ever be present.
oh my gosh,thanks for replying .im going to start my long ez in the next couple of weeks.i have no pilots liscense and i dont even know if ill ever get one,but i just want to build this plane to completion with engine etc.ive been building large scale composite r/c planes for 25 years and ive been itching from fiberglass for the same amount of time,lol..i have another question,would it be a good idea to incorporate some carbon fiber or even kevlar in any of the building of this plane,like uni directional carbon in the spars,or bid carbon fabric for wing and canard skins?i have a massive amount carbon fabric in many weights and different weaves that i can use.i just dont know the formula the figure out what fabric weight to use in the place of regular glass....anyways,your a great builder and a major motivator to me and im sure many others.you pretty much help me make my decision to want to start this build,and also to aquire large amounts guts to let my girl know what is going to take place in the next year or two and hopefully she will want to be around to see it finished,lol.....thanks again,keone
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