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Canopy fairing layup cloth

I used ACS part number 7781-50. I notice it doesn’t say if it’s BID or not. But it worked fine and I had no problems with it doing the compound curves.
 
7781-60

I used ACS part number 7781-50. I notice it doesn’t say if it’s BID or not. But it worked fine and I had no problems with it doing the compound curves.

Basically the same. I used 7781-60.
I didn't layup one piece layers all the way around. I used strips of various lengths with staggered overlaps. Easier to deal with curves.
 
make sure to cut your BID cloth at a 45deg angle; all I used was BID cloth on the canopy fairing, and it worked well.

Alex, so you didn’t do what Scott shows in the video? He suggests straight cuts for some of the pieces lined up on the weave (which is tough with a dense cloth like mine because it’s like an eye chart trying to line it up)
 
Alex, so you didn’t do what Scott shows in the video? He suggests straight cuts for some of the pieces lined up on the weave (which is tough with a dense cloth like mine because it’s like an eye chart trying to line it up)

I used a slightly different method, per an EAA SportAir workshop called "Fiberglass for RVs" taught by Scott VanderVeen. One of the three projects in the course was to create the canopy transition. In short, we used two double-layers of BID cloth, and then filled in the remaining void with Aeropoxy light (very easy to sand to contour). We also used a pre-preg technique to saturate the cloth between two layers of visqueen, which makes cutting and applying the cloth a non-event.

If you are interested, there is now an online version of his course: https://www.eaasportaironline.com/p/fiberglass-for-rv-and-sheet-metal-airplanes
 
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I used a slightly different method, per an EAA SportAir workshop called "Fiberglass for RVs" taught by Scott VanderVeen. One of the three projects in the course was to create the canopy transition. In short, we used two double-layers of BID cloth, and then filled in the remaining void with Aeropoxy light (very easy to sand to contour). We also used a pre-preg technique to saturate the cloth between two layers of visqueen, which makes cutting and applying the cloth a non-event.

If you are interested, there is now an online version of his course: https://www.eaasportaironline.com/p/fiberglass-for-rv-and-sheet-metal-airplanes

That works, but Van's engineering has always wanted something a bit more substantial for build thickness than just two layers of cloth, for the structural attachment of the front of the wind screen.

Two may be enough, but if the finish sanding is done as described in the plans, such that it is blended / feathered out on the edges, there would not be nearly the strength in the lay-up that is obtained by doing it as depicted in the videos.
 
That works, but Van's engineering has always wanted something a bit more substantial for build thickness than just two layers of cloth, for the structural attachment of the front of the wind screen.

Two may be enough, but if the finish sanding is done as described in the plans, such that it is blended / feathered out on the edges, there would not be nearly the strength in the lay-up that is obtained by doing it as depicted in the videos.

Thanks Scott. I understand - better to over-engineer, just incase it's not built to spec.
For the EAA Workshop method, it's actually 4 layers of cloth (two double-layers). At the end of the course, we all had a chance to try to rip it apart (since Scott VanderVeen knows that this would be the main concern compared to the factory method) - it was impressively strong.
 
Thanks Scott. I understand - better to over-engineer, just incase it's not built to spec.
For the EAA Workshop method, it's actually 4 layers of cloth (two double-layers). At the end of the course, we all had a chance to try to rip it apart (since Scott VanderVeen knows that this would be the main concern compared to the factory method) - it was impressively strong.

Well, the layup as prescribed was not over engineered. It is specifying what is considered necessary and any alternative method should be equivalent.
 
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