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ASK · Aug 21, 2008, 01:33 PM

Came out of the bag this morning.
That's way fast, but I cheated and used a (little bit) faster hardener. Note that I have some practice at this sort of thing. Use a slow hardener, do as I say, not as I do...

Good repair. I'll fill in the remaining crease in the leading edge today, as that is the most critical part of the airfoil.

I might do some fill work next week. Made of nice ugly patches of microballoon epoxy, they'll fill a couple slight depressions where the foam didn't fully restore in response to the boiling water. Or I'll pass and leave it relatively pretty, especially if it flies as good as I think it will this weekend.

Photos should explain the rest.

I bet if you look around IHLGF photos a couple years ago, you'll see Dr. Drela's original SuperGee. And you'll be LOL. Darn thing was half covered in microballoons, all sanded to the perfect airfoil shape. That's where I take my inspiration.

Aug 21, 2008, 01:33 PM	#54
ASK www.RCBuilder.com Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Espanola, NM USA Posts: 2,268	Results Came out of the bag this morning. That's way fast, but I cheated and used a (little bit) faster hardener. Note that I have some practice at this sort of thing. Use a slow hardener, do as I say, not as I do... Good repair. I'll fill in the remaining crease in the leading edge today, as that is the most critical part of the airfoil. I might do some fill work next week. Made of nice ugly patches of microballoon epoxy, they'll fill a couple slight depressions where the foam didn't fully restore in response to the boiling water. Or I'll pass and leave it relatively pretty, especially if it flies as good as I think it will this weekend. Photos should explain the rest. I bet if you look around IHLGF photos a couple years ago, you'll see Dr. Drela's original SuperGee. And you'll be LOL. Darn thing was half covered in microballoons, all sanded to the perfect airfoil shape. That's where I take my inspiration. Attached Thumbnails On a bright sunny morning, nothing more fun than taking a "new" wing out of the bag. 57.1 KB · Views: 199 See the nice tight vacuum? 61.8 KB · Views: 207 Our new vacuum access system, going from a single source to three tables. 56.1 KB · Views: 173 Time to open it up. 39.6 KB · Views: 191 See the laminated areas? 39.1 KB · Views: 229 Up close... 34.0 KB · Views: 196 Start lifting the tape with a blade, then peeling it with your fingers. 39.0 KB · Views: 169 Leading edge needs a little finish work with slightly-thickened epoxy, just to fill this crease. 31.2 KB · Views: 207 I know it's hard to see, but there is a little depression that I might want to fill. 33.2 KB · Views: 212 A few remaining grooves that could be filled. 43.5 KB · Views: 257 There it is, showing better on the other side. The depression is on both sides, and requires a feathering approach to apply and then later to sand smooth. 41.7 KB · Views: 222 Better angle on the leading edge crease. Fill with microballoon-thickened epoxy, cover with transparent tape or 3M Flashbreaker tape. It's ridiculously expensive tape, but it smooths out the fill, and then releases perfectly. Peel then sand smooth. 32.7 KB · Views: 214