Hints and Tips
Some more hints that I have found very useful ...
Those fiddly closeouts:
I found firstly with the tailplane tab close-outs and subsequently the aileron
closeouts (which are even more difficult than the tab ones because they are
deeper) that it was difficult to get a knife in to remove the foam in order to
expose the skin prior to the close-out layups.
A very useful tool which you can easily make up is to stick onto the end of a
3/8 in. dowel a scalpel blade (a No.26 is the largest straight one I could find)
obtained from a hobby shop or chemists in the U.K or a veterinarian in the U.S,
(Note: In the latter case you will need proof of identity, a letter stating what
you are going to use it for, and a third party witness!). Use 5 min. epoxy with
a bit of flox added. Once set sand down the flox until you are almost though to
the blade. The result is the ability to run a blade flush with the remaining
closeout and hence minimum mess and hassle. The strip of foam will just come
away once the more traditional utility knife has loosened up the peel ply/skin
side.
Tailplane Pip-pin Holes:
This first appeared in The Europa Flyer magazine and might be now included in
the basic instructions but it is worth repeating here in case it hasn't.
Rather than having ugly exposed holes in the tailplanes into which the pip-pins
are housed (together with any water that might ingress there) a 1 in. diameter
hole should be cut in the tailplane skin centred where the pin-pins will go.
Form a tapered hole right down to TP6 using a hot wire. Ensure the hole is wide
enough to accommodate not only the pip-pin but also the 2 plies of bid which
should be used to line the hole as per the manual.
Cut a 20 mm long piece of 22 mm diameter plastic pipe (from the local D.I.Y
store in the plumming section) and also a piece about 1-2 mm long. Cut a small
section from the circumference of the small piece so that it fits inside the 20
mm piece. Bond this in place flush with one end using 'solvent weld' to form a
flange.
Sand the flange end until a 3/4 inch blind rubber grommet (available from an
electrical component shop or car/motorbike spares shop) will fit neatly in the
flange.
Remove the grommet and bond the assembly into the lined hole using flox so that
the flanged end is flush with the top skin.
The grommet will fit perfectly and after final painting of the tailplanes (not
before) a smear of silicone grease will give a watertight seal. If you have
large fingers a simple hooked tool can be used for removing the pip-pin.
A really 'neat' idea!
Any more hints and tips out there which could be shared on the Europa forum?
Regards
Martin J K Tuck
Builder #152
Wichita, Kansas
U.S.A
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