Over the last
couple of days I have been working on masking the fuselage and canopy in
preparation for starting the fiberglass. I used some orange Duck Tape on the
fuselage. I put 3-layers of tape along
the lower fuselage skin. I put 1-layer
of tape over the upper fuselage skin all as instructed on the drawings.
Next I set up my
small work tables and brought out the canopy.
I placed the canopy on the tables and started to prep the support arms
to received the foam blocks that will be epoxied in place on each arm.
In the shop I
marked each foam block and then used a hack-saw blade to cut the wedge off of
the end of each block. It is necessary
to cut the wedge off of the block so it will fit on the support arms. The support arms have an angled bend in the
to follow the support on the fuselage.
It was fairly easy to cut the foam with the hack-saw blade.
After cutting the
wedge from the end of the foam blocks I placed them on the support arms and
marked the outline of the support arm on each block. I also marked the location of the hole for
the support arm bolt. Using a 7/8"
hole saw I drilled each block for the support arm bolt. After cutting the blocks to shape I taped them
to the canopy support arms.
I sanded the support arms to prep the aluminum to
receive the epoxy. It then occurred to
me that when the canopy is raised the lower part of the support arm will be
exposed to view. I had painted the upper
portion of the support arms previously, but it did not occur to me at the time
that the whole support arm would be visible.
I decided to paint the lower portion before I epoxy the foam blocks in
place. I taped and masked the support
arms and after coaxing my can of Rustoleum Black Hammertone spray paint to
work, I applied the paint.
