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#glider

1 post1 participant0 posts today
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TomKrajci 🇺🇦 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

Polishing the glider's paint - a brief experiment with an electric dual-action polisher on a test piece.

I used a coarse foam disk and cutting/buffing (not polishing) compound. The machine was at the lowest speed and light pressure was used for a minute or two.

This is a promising follow up to: universeodon.com/@KrajciTom/11

The difference in surface prep was obvious. Where the paint had been sanded with 1200, the surface gained a gloss almost instantly. If the surface was sanded with 600, it remained hazy. Those sections only sanded with 400 were very hazy, even with more polishing time and a bit more pressure.

It looks like I'll hand sand to 1200, then use the electric polisher.

I just had an idea. If I build a bracket/clamp to hold the polisher upside down, I can hold small parts and better control the process.

#avgeek #aviation #ElectricAircraft #ExperimentalAviation #homebuilt
#Glider #DIY #Paint #Sand #Buff #Polish

Brief experiments with machine polishing on surfaces sanded with different grits. Even with only a minute of polishing, those sections that were sanded with 1200 grit became glossy quickly. The reflection of the light is not at a glancing angle. I'm figuring out how to manage the sanding and polishing process.
I will build a bracket/clamp to hold the electric polisher upside down...to allow me to hold small parts and better control the polishing process.
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TomKrajci 🇺🇦 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

Making a fiberglass wingtip wheel for the glider wing.

1st photo - making the mold/form out of foam, with a 60mm diameter inline skate wheel in place. Note that the underside of the wing is covered with clear tape to protect it from epoxy when I lay up 7 plies of glass.

2nd photo - making the fabric template. A single piece of glass fabric (weave 7725 because it drapes so well over various curves and corners) will make the final part, but there will be an overlap along the trailing edge. I draped a piece of plastic over the foam form after it was hot-glued to the wing and then traced out the pattern, with some reference marks such as a center line.

3rd - Demolding the cured part by squeezing it so that it flexes/distorts a bit...and the epoxy at the base easily shears off from the waxed clear tape. (No need for hammer and wedges.)

4th - rough sanded final part.

#avgeek #aviation #ElectricAircraft #ExperimentalAviation #homebuilt
#Glider #DIY #Wing #Fiberglass #Epoxy #Composite

Blue Styrofoam is attached to the underside of the glider wingtip. The foam is easy to sand and shape to the desired contour. Unfortunately, such a mold is single-use becuase I did not add any taper to the part, so I had to tear the foam out with pliers after the fiberglass cured. No worries, I have paper templates in order to quickly make a second form for the other wing.
A template for the fiberglass fabric. This wingtip wheel is a single-layup operation. Note that while the leading edge will be a continuous piece of fabric, but the trailing edge will have the two ends overlap.
Demolding a part *should* be an easy matter...if you set things up correctly...good geometry in the mold, proper use of release wax, etc.
Final part after rough sanding to remove the outer weave pattern. It will get a proper trimming job later, then painted white.
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TomKrajci 🇺🇦 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

Time lapse video showing the approach of a back door cold front over the Sacramento mountains of southern New Mexico.

This is a classic example of convergence that glider pilots love. Two different temperature air masses are slowly colliding.

This cold front is not very deep, so it behaves like a blunt wedge/spatula as it pushes west. (The high altitude winds are blowing in the opposite direction.)

#NewMexico#NMwx#Convergence
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TomKrajci 🇺🇦 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

The canopy has been removed from the fuselage so that I can glue in round foam 'rod' that will serve as a seal when the canopy is closed onto the canopy rail.

Tomorrow I will flip the canopy end-for-end and finish gluing the rest of the foam.

Fitting the foam will be through trial and error. In some sections the foam will be too thick...I'll sand it down. In sections where the foam is not thick enough...I'll put a thick layer of tape on the canopy rail.

A good canopy seal helps reduce noise, cold air leaks at high altitude, and can even improve glide performance a tiny bit.

#avgeek #aviation #ElectricAircraft #ExperimentalAviation #homebuilt
#Glider #DIY
#Canopy #RTVsilicone #Adhesive

A close-up view of the underside of the canopy frame, which is black. Gray round foam 'rod' has been glued in place to serve as a seal when the canopy is closed.
Public
TomKrajci 🇺🇦 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

The wing water ballast tank push rods have been cut to length and appear to mechanically function as intended. (There is a cockpit control lever for each ballast tank drain valve.)

This evening, I will add water to the wing tanks for the first operational ground tests.

(This is a follow up to:
universeodon.com/@KrajciTom/11 )

#avgeek #aviation #ElectricAircraft #ExperimentalAviation #homebuilt
#Glider

Continued thread
Public
TomKrajci 🇺🇦 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

This second video shows the full span flaperon being raised and lowered on one wing.

The flaperon serves two purposes:

- Aileron. Control of bank angle/roll axis rotation when one wing's aileron goes up, the other wing's aileron goes down.

- Flap. Both wings raise or lower the flaps to alter the camber of the airfoil. For low speed flight the camber is increased (flaps down). High speed flight requires decreased camber (flaps up, and even flaps 'negative' so that the flaps go way up).

(Inside the fuselage there is a mechanical mixer that combines the action of the control stick (side to side for aileron input), and the flap lever.)

#ExperimentalAviation
#Homebuilt
#GeneralAviation
#Glider
#avGeek
#Aviation

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