RV-14 Wing Kit Awesome!

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by mcattell

Yep, here is a sample of the cracks I got in my nice new paint from the gelcoat. And a photo of the extensive repair. The repair on the aft end was in attempt to hide the darn metal rib better. Hopefully these new tips will be better.

I don't know if it is relevant in this instance, but this is one of the reasons I am not a big fan of two stage paint systems on aircraft.

Clear coats (particularly if you are not buying the real high dollar ones) are not nearly as flexible as many of the popular paints are. Clear coat cracking, because of flexing on surfaces that aren't real stiff (like some areas of wing tips) can also be the cause of this type of issue.

[LifeofReiley]

most tips are VERY wavy and have spider cracks here or there from Van's, they say deal with it.

[mcattell]

Originally Posted by rvbuilder2002

I don't know if it is relevant in this instance, but this is one of the reasons I am not a big fan of two stage paint systems on aircraft.

Clear coats (particularly if you are not buying the real high dollar ones) are not nearly as flexible as many of the popular paints are. Clear coat cracking, because of flexing on surfaces that aren't real stiff (like some areas of wing tips) can also be the cause of this type of issue.

Actually I did use the high dollar PPG paint and clear. The cracks were in the gelcoat, not just the paint. The repair consisted of grinding the cracks all the way down to the glass to get rid of them. But with that said, I think I'd go single stage next time. Base/clear takes too much time, too much expense and too much weight.

[mcattell]

I thought you all might be interested in this little change on the RV-14 wing compared to previous 2-place RV models. I'm assuming the stick placement is ahead of the spar because there's a torque tube at the wing root to get the controls to the back of the spar. Interesting.....

[pierre smith]

My RV-10 is like that too.

Best,

[rv9av8tr]

Originally Posted by pierre smith

My RV-10 is like that too.

Best,

Makes sense, as this is reportedly a "clipped wing" RV-10 wing.

[NovaBandit]

Originally Posted by rleffler

Looks like some great improvements!

We been sanding the RV-10 wingtips for the last several days. Way too many micro cracks in the gel coat. I couldn't see them initially until we primed. We basically had to sand ithe gel coat off and start over with a sanding primer to make things look right.

The gray cowl for the RV-10 was a big improvement, so I hope you'll see the same on the wing tips.

My -10 wing kit came with gray wing tip, and was shipped early this summer.

[cattflight]

Originally Posted by MLock

The vast majority of the holes in the skins, ribs, spar webs, etc. are final size. No enlargement is required.

Seems like the single biggest improvement to speed the build. Are they able to do this now simply due to the quality and precision of the manufacturing tooling?

[pvalovich]

Ok - I've tried. I've gone into domestic rehab and slowly focused on house repairs. The wife has been fooled into thinking I'll never fall off the wagon and once again become Spruce dependent and addicted to Van's website. Nor would I ever again enter into a deep personal relationship with the UPS guy. She thinks that regularly flying my -8A is enough.

But I have no control - I'm an RV building addict and am about to become a repeat offender.

She'll eventually get over it, won't she?

"A man has to know his limitations" - D. Harry

[dicel87]

Originally Posted by pvalovich

She'll eventually get over it, won't she?

Sounds like an excellent question for a poll!