fiberglass... help?

[RV7ForMe]

Hello ladies and gentlemen.

I am slowly starting to work on fairings. elevator / HS is fine as far as fit goes.
On the rudder / VS not so much...

Here is what I got:



If I try to close the edge #1 then edge #2 is not going to be in line with the LE of the VS. I cant move the whole thing up because then I wont have enough material on the bottom for the rivets with ED...

What is the route you guys have used or would use?
Thanks for all the help.

[BillL]

I would extend the bottom of the VS tip. That saves filler on top, that gets heavy. I would either make a "form" with packing tape or if something more substantial is appropriate then wrap some poster board over the vs skin, mark cut and make a strip that could bolster the packing tape. Then taper the lower glass edge, and make some wet strips to extend that lower edge. 3 layers is good, 4 probably matches the original thickness. Cure and sand to a square edge of the new length. After fitted, then use micro to fill the joggle gap back flush with the skin.

Just me.

[RV7ForMe]

Originally Posted by BillL

I would extend the bottom of the VS tip. That saves filler on top, that gets heavy. I would either make a "form" with packing tape or if something more substantial is appropriate then wrap some poster board over the vs skin, mark cut and make a strip that could bolster the packing tape. Then taper the lower glass edge, and make some wet strips to extend that lower edge. 3 layers is good, 4 probably matches the original thickness. Cure and sand to a square edge of the new length. After fitted, then use micro to fill the joggle gap back flush with the skin.

Just me.

Thanks bill! I will see if I can get it to work.

[czechsix]

There have been several related threads for the RV-14. I believe the 14 and 7 both use the same RV-9 rudder/VS tip fairings, and unfortunately they don't fit correctly, so you either have to live with the misalignment or spend the time to fix it.

See http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...d.php?t=153756 for the most recent RV-14 discussion...

[8 Builder]

As Bill says. I did something similar by cutting some 1" thick rigid foam that goes around the outside of the VS fiberglass piece. Use the VS fiberglass tip like a cookie cutter to make the impression in the foam then cut it out on the indentation. Protect the foam with packing tape and lay up some fiberglass cloth strips on the inside of the tip. It doesn't matter how the bottom edge looks as long as you have the foam keeping it fair. The bottom edge will be sanded off to what you need for height and rivet edge clearance. I use a band saw to cut the foam and a belt sander to fine tune the ragged edge. Fear not! If you screw it up the first time just sand the goof up off and do over.

[RV7ForMe]

Originally Posted by 8 Builder

As Bill says. I did something similar by cutting some 1" thick rigid foam that goes around the outside of the VS fiberglass piece. Use the VS fiberglass tip like a cookie cutter to make the impression in the foam then cut it out on the indentation. Protect the foam with packing tape and lay up some fiberglass cloth strips on the inside of the tip. It doesn't matter how the bottom edge looks as long as you have the foam keeping it fair. The bottom edge will be sanded off to what you need for height and rivet edge clearance. I use a band saw to cut the foam and a belt sander to fine tune the ragged edge. Fear not! If you screw it up the first time just sand the goof up off and do over.

oh yea this sounds great. I ll try this. Thanks for all the help everyone!

the picture of the -14 on the other thread looks really perfect.