Scale Wendell Hostetler 30% Piper Cherokee Glass Fuselage Build.
- Thread starter TonyHallo
- Start date
TonyHallo
150cc
Had a lot of time waiting for the cement to dry while taping the aileron for the Champ so I got the mold waxed for the main gear. For mounting the main pants, the 1/4" axle goes through the side near the strut and extends all the way over to the opposite side where a 1/4" plywood plate is installed and drilled to receive the axle. This provides support on both sides. Normally these plates are added to the commercial pants while working through wheel opening. Now I have the opportunity to install these plates before closing the mold. A 1/8" plywood plate is installed on the strut side and the 1/4" thick plate is installed on the opposite side. The plates were sanded down on 45 degree angle around the perimeter to provide a smooth transition for the KEVLAR that also covers the plates. The plates were set in a bed of epoxy and colloidal silica, thenthe KEVLAR was installed on top, then the mold was closed final glassing. The pant is laid up with 1 layer of 2 ounce, 1 layer of 4 ounce cloth, and 1 layer of 6 ounce KEVLAR.
TonyHallo
150cc
Pulled the pant this morning. The mold half was leveled using three 1/4"-20 screws at the parting surface, this provided a drill jig to drill the 1/4" holes for the axle. I was relying on the drill depth gauge on the drill press and it is either off or I don't how to use it, went a little too deep! No big deal, it can be repaired but now I'll need to wax it again. All in all it worked great since there are no flat surfaces on these pants.
pawnshopmike
Staff member
Beautiful work brother. Mikey like.
dhal22
GSN Sponsor Tier 1
TonyHallo
150cc
Decided to lay up the left pant using jointing tape rather than the overlap method. The 2 ounce and 4 ounce cloth was laid up and trimmed while green to the top of the parting line. The KELVAR was cut just below the parting line and laid up using peel ply, mounting hard points installed and ready to close the mold. The peel ply does make a nice finish.
TonyHallo
150cc
Put the white paint to the fuselage plug today. The local paint supply had gallons of white PPG Delstar acrylic enamel on sale for $50per gallon. Must have been a fleet color because they transfer from 5 gallon pails into 1 gallon cans. It is discontinued now but works great, that's what we used back in the early 70's at my dad's shop. The pint of hardener cost $48! At any rate it's perfect for what I'm doing here, I'd go buy another gallon but it is little on the cream color. A scuff and buff and it will be perfect for molding, who knows when. Tomorrow I hope to prep the cowl for the Super Cub while the paint cures on the Champ wings, even di a little sanding on the Tri Pacer cowl this morning.
