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July 9th 2000 Week 2 of our follow-up of the building of a Pelican Sport from Ultravia Aero International Inc. |
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On the right, the part against which the bottom of the
front windshield will come to rest. It is glued in place with
Epoxy mixed with flux. Flux is a bonding (or structuring) agent. Here cotton, raveled to extremely small loose threads, plays the role of promoting a very solid bond between the two parts.
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The back of this rail is bent back upwards to form a resting piece for the bottom of the windshield. The angle thus made in regard to the hood onto which the rail is glued leaves a space that will be hard to clean later. It was decided to fill this gap, at least partially. To prevent the use of an excessive amount of Epoxy and to avoid adding unnecessary weight, glass microbeads were mixed with the Epoxy. They have no bonding or structuring role (compared to flux) and they serve essentially as volume filler. |
You can see this filling in the upper right corner insert on the picture above.
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This part is made of fiberglass. It was delivered molded to the desired shape. Such parts are now being solidified to avoid vibration during flight. Vibration could produce cracks in the putty and break the paint surface. |
A strip of fiberglass cloth is cut at a 45 degrees angle. Putty is applied on the upper median line of the part. The fiberglass strip is stretched and sunk in the putty. |
| A coat of putty is added over the strip. While the putty is still soft, exceding amount is taken off with a rough file. Then, after it has dried off, comes sanding and polishing again to finish the job! |
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These drawings illustrate, in an exagerated way, was is at stake here. The part on the left vibrates at 100 kmph. The one on the right, with its reenforced centre line, is more stable. The paint job stays intact. |
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| Here are some parts in their original state. |
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Each of the parts illustrated here have received 10 hours worth of polishing, sanding and other preparation... 80 hours for these parts alone, halfway done! |
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This electronic instrument needs to be in direct contact with the outer shell of the cockpit. Usualy, a space is provided under the floor of the cabin. Here, it has been located in one of the lightening hole under the footrest.
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Transponders are now so miniaturized that they just might replace codes bars found on almost every item sold these days. No more infrared reading device and manipulation of your grocery basket. Just pass through the reading barrier with your tagged goods and your total expense will be automatically deduced from your banking account. Science-fiction? So was this web site 5 years ago! |
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This week's
Secret of the Trade. Lots of mixes made this week (Epoxy & Flux, Epoxy and glass microbeads, Putty...). Each recipient used for these mixes is stored for a reasonable lenght of time. Each batch can thus be verified for adequate consistency and hardness after drying. |
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À propos de l'auteur/ About the author Web site conception and production , text, pictures and illustrations : Jean-Pierre Bonin © 1999-2007 If you use my pictures or illustrations, please send me your web page address by e-mail.
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