End view of the brake. The center plate, extending upwards, mounts to the wheel pant. You can see the hollow threaded rod which slides along the 1/4" bolts. I'm looking forward to seeing how well this new mounting system works. I have high expections for it. 

My new brake mount. 

Before gluing the foam in place, I had taped off this area with duct tape as a mold release. After I glassed it, I put a pie plate over the area that covers the brakes and drew a circle. Carefully peeled the glass skin off, dug out the foam, then I have a nice area for brake access. 

Two layers of BID glass applied. You can also see the steel insert that I will use as a hardpoint for my removable tiedown ring. 

After several sessions, the shaping is complete.  

For carving, I kept reffering to an RV pant a friend lent me. I also made some drawings and profile templates. Most of the rough carving was done using my Milwaukee Sawsall. 

Front view. 

Here is the right pant with all the foam pieces glued in place using the two part foam. I found I could paint the mixture onto the inside of the foam and the outside of the pant. While it seems to work OK, it kooks gross! 

I hot wired a profile of my new desired wheel pants. Next, I cut that piece apart and attached the sections to the pant. I used the two-part expanding foam for all gluing operations. 

The hack job begins! The idea was to keep the structural part - the part that holds the wheel to the canard - then lop off everything else. I wish I had a video of the Sawsall massacre! 

Preparing for the Milwaulee Sawsall! 

First step; on saw horses. 

Blog - Day One

Welcome to my Blog. It was easy to start it, I hope that I'll make it worth while. I imagine I'll use mainly for things about my aircraft. I'm making lots of modifications and maybe I'll keep abreast here.

May as well throw in a "before" photo.



I'm a total glutton for punishment. I can't get enough speed out of my little plane, and I find myself willing to spend an inordinate amount of time (and some money) tyring things that, I hope, will make it just a little faster.

Most lately, I've been working on the wheel pants.
I did some tuft testing and found I was getting some separation at the tail of the pant. I also knew that the nose of the pant was too blunt.