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Matt Dralle's RV-8 Project
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Date: 7-13-2009
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Number of Hours: 5.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Reworking The Fiberglass Wing Tips - Part 1
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After I finally figured out how to rig the ailerons, it turned out that the fiberglass wing tips didn't exactly line up correctly at the trailing edge like they were suppose to. On the left wing, both the inboard and outboard trailing edge of the tip was about 3/4" lower than the neutral position of the aileron. On the right side, oddly, on the inboard side of the tip, it aligned perfectly, but on the outboard side, it drooped about 3/8" of inch.
I had nearly just ordered a couple of new wing tips, but then decided to try splitting them along the trailing edge and up the side about 18" or so and see what I could do with some judicious bending, pushing, and pulling.
For some reason, I forgot to take any pictures of the left side, but the right side photos look pretty much the same except that it was easier because I wasn't trying to get a twist out of it. I used the 48" long blue level as a reference because it was very straight and true and would sit straight on the tip. I wasn't actually "leveling" anything with it.
I used a #409 cutoff wheel in the 'ol Dremel tool to cut the trailing edge and side. The beauty of the #409 is that it is very thin and doesn't remove much material when it cuts. I added a layer of glass cloth between the top and bottom pieces to make up for the material cut out with the #409, and then added a nice layer of resin. Next I taped the whole thing up using that blue painter's masking tape. The beauty of that blue tape is that the resin doesn't really stick to it so after it cures you can just peel the tape off. For the trailing edge, I was able to make a nicely rounded "mold" of sorts using the tape. On the right side, I was working a twist out, so I used the pneumatic floor jack to raise the tip up the 3/8" needed plus just a little bit more to allow for the rebound.
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Tip Spit Using #409 Dremel Tool
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Right Tip Droop - 3/8"
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Ready To Add Glasscloth and Resin
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Copyright © 2008-2024 Matt Dralle. All Rights Reserved.
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