Aileron Well

[TezzaT]

I come up the same as you did on the ply, but you did not give a thickness on the aluminum...

[scottiniowa]

I come up the same as you did on the ply, but you did not give a thickness on the aluminum...

Around here we have some at .010  and some at .0092  I used the latter for calculations.

[Dan_]

As always there are many ways to skin the cat, and to do the math..
Dan, I can't get my numbers to match yours but...

Scott,
Thanks for the fact check.  I have edited my other post.

I have made a terrible mistake...  Yesterday, somehow I came out with a 1 inch cube of plywood weighing .0244 lbs. 

Today, I put pen to paper and kept up with the units, and I must have divided something yesterday when I should have multiplied --but today that same cube came out weighing .495 lbs (8 OUNCES)

It takes a long time to do it but I will show my work this time with an equation editor I ran across that lays it out nice and neat, so I will put it in another post...

[Dan_]

Scott,
Thanks for the fact check.  I have edited my other post.

I have made a terrible mistake...  Yesterday, somehow I came out with a 1 inch cube of plywood weighing .0244 lbs. 

Today, I put pen to paper and kept up with the units, and I must have divided something yesterday when I should have multiplied --but today that same cube came out weighing .495 lbs (8 OUNCES)

Ok, I think I have it correct this time...  I woke up a little foggy yesterday I guess.  I think where I went wrong was 4.5 cubic inches of the plywood weighed .11 lbs.

So this time I came out with 5 feet of the metal weighing 2.6 ounces and 5 feet of the ply weighing 2.2 ounces.

If you are going to make a decision based on these calculations, I suggest you check my work...  See attached. 

The equation editor takes so long it becomes a strong potential for errors.

Thanks again Scott.

[jrbirdman47]

I think this is going to work: Only had access to a 36" brake, precluding installing the flashing in 2 pieces. So, installed three pieces with a 30" section inboard, a 32.5" section outboard, and a 15 3/4" section spanning those two in the middle, (1/16" wider to account for the overlap). As Scott thought, installing multiple pieces made it easier to install and the shorter sections allowed for any small imperfections in the wood structure beneath or the metal itself. Installing all 3 pieces took less time and effort than the single, 6 1/2 foot long piece I originally tried.

Thanks for all the ideas and help with this!

Eagle on!

Rick

[jrbirdman47]

Note to anyone trying this method: To save tons of time and sweat, rough up the surfaces to be glued BEFORE you bend the metal while it's still flat and accessible. Not that I would make such a mistake. I just have a "friend" who did that. Yeah. A "friend".

[kalazzerx]

Looking real good - congrats on getting that to work.  

+1 on the roughing up the surface before bending - I found that out the hard way also.

[Mark Kramer]

Hi guys,
The thought of wrestling with the aluminum didn’t seem like an option for me. I went with fiberglass cloth and west system epoxy. I don’t have a scale so I can’t give accurate weights. I started with 3” pvc pipe and applied duct tape, 4layers with clear packing tape as the final layer for release. The tape was to increase the diameter of the pipe mold to match the wing. The wooden strips for the edges are lumber yard 8061 moldings. The radius wasn’t quite the same so I altered it a bit. Set up a jig in the drill press and drilled 1/2” holes every 1”. The 3/8 x #6 screws were removed after epoxy dried. The parts felt very light in my hands, and for me was very easy to accomplish.

[Mark Kramer]

More pics

[kalazzerx]

That looks good to - not sure which is more time consuming - your method or the aluminum one   

Now if we could to that but with a mold that had a flange well that would be really cool!

[scottiniowa]

That looks good to - not sure which is more time consuming - your method or the aluminum one  

Now if we could to that but with a mold that had a flange well that would be really cool!

Love to see the great new ideas coming along,  one might note that what  really works well in many cases, is that where the screws go as seen in the photos, I have used 3/32 alum rivets to hold, until the bonding material is fully cured.  With the air-riveter it certainly takes longer to drill the hole than it does to install the rivet.  But the second beauty is that we can use cleco's  before hand and make sure all holes and every hole work. 
Yes, we have used the rivet, to extend through the wood piece, or into it.

 Then remove glass/piece, apply bonding material to prepared surface (3M-2216) pop in the rivets, wipe excess, and onward.  These rivets in essence really become "tear" rivets  If the bonding ever lets loose, we got a lot worse things starting to happen, and by then it won't matter much. 

  This is a weight and speed to install thing, certainly not bashing screws...
Keep up the good work guys and best of success!
Scott  

[jrbirdman47]

Really love seeing all the ways problems get solved here! Nice looking set up.

[Kamcoman77]

Mark Kramer: The fiberglass looks very nice. What weight fiberglass cloth did you use and how many layers?

[Mark Kramer]

Hi,
Bought the fiberglass at Lowe’s. 8sq ft for car bodywork I think. There was no weight given on the package. I have boat building history and think maybe 6 oz. You can get 1.5 oz from ACSS. I don’t like their prices and shipping prices, so I went with Lowe’s aircraft supply.The layup is two layers thick. I kept a 1” piece I cut off one end, and also a 1” piece of the wood edging pieces with a lightening hole in it. I plan on weighing them as soon as I get access to a scale. Should be able to get a fairly accurate weight of the airleron well. By the way, it’s incredibly strong.

[Kamcoman77]

Thank you for the info. I think I have enough 4 oz or 6 oz fiberglass to give it a try.