> >
>
>
> Fred you mentioned in the antenna discussions, you have made some more
> progress
> on wing root fairings. I am sure must of the guys would be
> interested in
> those pics.
>
> craig
Sure Craig:
The "news" on my fairings follows:
The design remains the same; they mate with the stock fairing at the
spar, and would be able to be easily added to a completed aircraft.
As these photos show, there is now a companion piece which deals with
the underside and tucks under the trailing edge of the stock Europa
fairing...at the trailing edge of the wing (underside) and the leading
edge of the flap. Of course, the airflow in flight is just as
interested in the underside of the wing as it is the upper
surface...the more I looked at the stock situation, the more I
realized that something had to be done.
I am currently (very cautiously) trial fitting a set on my aircraft,
attempting to assure that, as the fairing is cut into the portions
which bond to the wing, the flap, and the aft fuselage, the smooth and
continuous curvature is maintained. (Thank God for clecos, hot glue,
and tongue depressors!). Note that the flap drive slot is now covered.
I am also dealing with the issue of air flow over and around the aft
portion of the fairing when the flaps are deployed. Just how to close
the volume opened up when the flaps are deployed and configure the
resulting surface is not yet resolved.
I have shipped a full set (uncut) to a fellow flyer (tri-gear) who is
going to use some magic adhesives and tape to attach them to his wing
and fuselage. (He plans to do some zero flap takeoffs and landings.)
He will fly some specific profiles with and without the fairings so we
will have some idea how they affect performance and efficiency of
flight...I'm hoping these tests will be performed prior to Sun N Fun.
I've been holding back on offering them to builders until I have some
idea of performance. Also, I've wanted to go thru the installation
process so I could write up some recommendations on how to position
and install them.
At this point, it seems clear to me that the positioning of the
fairing can only be accomplished w/ reasonable precision and symmetry
when the top molding is in one piece; thus, I expect to make up the
top and bottom moldings, trim them, mark them for cutting, and ship
them so. It will be up to the builder to do the cutting, make up and
fit the flanges, and do the finishing, etc. They come off the molds
pretty smooth, they are within a gnat's a__ of being perfectly
symmetrical, but they are not vacuum-bagged. Off the molds and
trimmed, the upper and lower shells (together) weigh just under one
pound port and starboard.
I will be bringing a fairing to Sun N Fun.
So...that's where things stand at the moment,
Fred
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