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 Sailplane Construction Project Session #152

omet Sailplane Project
 
I have spent most of the day making a mandrel for spraying the fuselage and a support fixture for spraying the top of the stab. The fuselage mandrel is made out a 1/4" plywood plate that bolts to the firewall through the motor mount blind nuts. To the plate is attached a 7/16" wooden dowel. The picture below shows the dowel jigged to the plywood plate while the 15 minute epoxy sets up.
 
Because of the large bending moment that will be put on the dowel/plate fixture when supporting the fuselage, four 1/8" lite ply stiffeners were added in a cruciform pattern as shown below.
 
This picture shows the finished fuselage mandrel bolted to the fuselage's firewall.
 
If you recall, in my last report I showed the picture below of the stab mounted upside down on a  support fixture for spraying the edges and the bottom of the stab.
 
Today I made a second stab support fixture for painting the top of the stab. 1/8" X 3" balsa   sheet was used to make two supports that plug into the stab's sub fin slots on the bottom of the stab out near the tips. These two supports were glued to a piece of 1" X 4" pine and braced with two braces as shown below.
 
This picture shows the stab mounted right side up on the finished support fixture.
 
Tomorrow, I spray the satin clear Klass Kote on all of the Sailplane's components except for the wing. I still have not figured exactly out how to support wing yet so I will have to work on that some more..............................Tandy 

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