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Landing gear fairing question

Charles in SC

Well Known Member
I bought the fairings that Van's sells. They were made on a male mold so they are slick on the inside and the outside has the rough fabric weave.
My question is what is the best way to slick them up on the outside?
It seems that the options that I can think of are to spread a coat of micro slurry on and sand smooth. I also have some very light glass deck cloth. I could put a layer of this cloth on it and then smooth it over with micro slurry.
Any other ideas are welcome.
 
Keep them then AND also order from RVBits, an outstanding product. Coating them with be Flox, super fill, hi fill, or combination thereof will be a lot of work.
 
Leg fairings

FWIW, I might consider sanding the exterior surface until it is smooth. Goes quickly with the right equipment. The sanding screen for sanding drywall seams works well for me. Rip the screen into 2 x 4 inch strips, fold over a small block of wood, and start recriprocating. Light weight is good. Good luck!

- Roger
 
Dan's post 15 holds the magic.

Do not be tempted to add a thick coat versus the three thin coats of raw epoxy. If you do it will likely sag and you will need to go back a step and start over.

Add primer only when you are satisfied with the finish - primer does not fill the surface defects.
 
Please accept my compliments....you're attempting to acquire actual airplane building skills among those who apparently only wish to exercise their credit cards.

Charles,

Yep, those of us that did not want to spend a fortune in time and money making those peices of poo work and look like something could never have any real aircraft building skills. You better listen to the experts....
 
Ditto....again

Ditto....again, what Brian said. My project got to the point where I just wanted to finish it and not spend endless hours fitting parts that should have fit better in the first place. RVBits fairings are available at:

RVBits full set fairings .... $185 at Cleaveland Tool
http://www.cleavelandtoolstore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RV67IF4

Van's are $149

Personally, $36 well spent in time and effort.

Not wishing to start a war here DanH as your fiberglass skills are legendary. However, mine are not and after 14+ years of building, I was just itching to fly. He is not building his own fairings as you have done but attempting to fit Van's fairings. Good Luck with that, as many have said.
 
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Call Van's and get their directions

Charles,

Dan's info is GREAT.

My memory of the Van's intersection fairings is they are intended to have AT LEAST one layer of glass added to the outside surface. Add a single layer with peel ply to get a smooth surface. The intersection fairings may also need a moderate amount of trimming. I believe Van's has a single page sheet that describes how they expected the intersection fairings to be finished / installed. I'd recommend getting the directions from Vans in addition to reading and applying information from Dan.

Regards,
 
I just bought my 7 uppers from http://www.fairings-etc.com
for $145.
I purchased the 7A version years ago and they were very good quality.
If anyone is interested, I will sell my old 7A mains and nose gear upper intersection fairings at a very good price.
 
I just bought my 7 uppers from http://www.fairings-etc.com
for $145.
I purchased the 7A version years ago and they were very good quality.
If anyone is interested, I will sell my old 7A mains and nose gear upper intersection fairings at a very good price.

Dan,

I'm interested in your old -7A fairings. Love to give 'em a try on my -7A. What do you have in mind?

PM me or email at bebm4 at yahoo dot com

Mike
 
Maybe I'm insane but I fabricated my own lower gear fairings and enjoyed it. That said, I've been intimidated by the upper ones. Getting the fiberglass strips to defy gravity and not fall on my face has made me consider going the credit card route.
As far as fixing the rough surface on an existing part is concerned, just sand off the high spotsand squeegee a couple layers of micro filled epoxy over the low spots. Sand, repeat. Takes 1 day and you can work on something else each time you're waiting for a coat to firm up. Cover with peel ply each time and you'll have good adhesion and a flat surface.
If the part doesn't fit properly, that's another battle. One I wouldn't take on.
 
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