“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more….” And so we take out the resin and cloth, the paper cups and stir sticks, the implements of … wheel pant repair !
Like one of Henry’s “dear friends”, the Valkyrie’s poor right wheel pant has seen more destruction than any airplane part should have to endure in its four short years of life – two flat tires had ground away bits and pieces (replaced each time) and now this – a crushing blow from a pavement edge at a campout fly-in. It’s my fault of course; can’t blame anyone else. We’d pushed the airplane into the dirt to get it off the ramp, and the lip was too tall to get it back up, so we pushing it tail first, parallel to the edge to find a spot where the lip was shorter. I got it too close to the edge, pushed a little sideways on the tail, and the pant came hard up against the pavement as I torqued it sideways. Believe me, the crunching sound is not something you ever want to experience! The bad words will not be repeated here.
The damage was extensive. Since the wheel pant is fairly long, and the mount stiff, it doesn’t take much sideways force on the tail of the pant to overstress the thin glass. In this case, I had a palm-sized hole on the outboard side where the bulkhead attaches to the shell, the bulkhead had detached itself from the bottom (and ripped out some chunks with it), and a vertical crack on the inboard side (along the bulkhead)was a good six inches long. Fortunately, there was duct tape in the area – enough to splint the structure and hold it together firmly enough for the trip home. (Hint: if you have to duct tape the aft portion of the pant, extend the tape forward over the flange so that the nose piece captures the tape – it’s good for RV speeds that way!)
We arrived home about 1600, unloaded the camping gear, and off came the pant. I had a clean workbench, so getting started was simply a matter of grabbing a few grinding and cutting tools to “debreed the wound”, as the physicians might say. Lots of soap and water , acetone, and elbow grease cleaned things up to get ready for new glass. I was very lucky in one respect – the elaborate trim colors on the pant were untouched – all of the damage was in the white bottom half of the pant. My painter had previously given me the secret paint code for a commonly-available spray paint that perfectly matches the white of “Jet Glo” that he uses, so I was going to be able to do this myself. I carefully taped off the entire top of the pant, using electrical tape along the curving black stripe that delineates top from bottom. A couple layers of paper and tape, and the trim was sealed from damage.
The major structural damage was in the sorta’ flat area where the bulkhead attaches, so I was able to put some vinyl tape on a piece of soft aluminum, then drill and cleco it to the outside of the pant to hold the pieces together as I put repair glass on the inside. I had access to both front and back of the bulkhead due to the bottom damage, and the first lay-up (inside surface, structural repair) was quick. I like to have West “fast’ hardener on hand, and being impatient, I also have several heat lamps available to speed things up once the lay-up is in place, so in about an hour, I was ready to start work on the exterior.
With the pant now structurally intact from the inside repair, I was able to ground out all the damaged areas on the exterior and feather the edges for an exterior glass layer (or two). That layup was done before bedtime, and the thing set up over night. At this point, I could have bolted the pant on and flown if I needed to – it was just really ugly! Fortunately, the next morning dawned with low clouds, fog, and a hint of drizzle, so I was able to focus on the repair instead of trying to go flying! I mixed up a very dry cup of micro and resin, and built up the low areas to get the outer mold-line back where it should be. This set up over breakfast and morning chores, and by mid-morning, it was time to bring out the power sanders to smooth everything out and restore the lines of the pant. One more round of dry micro filled in the remaining low points, and after lunch I was ready for final sanding and a coat of sandable primer. That showed a few areas that needed slight attention, such as pin holes, but a little glazing putty took care of those.
Worked progressed all afternoon as I helped Louise lay out the RV-3 firewall pieces – it was good to have a couple of projects going, as I could do one while the paint dried on the other. Several layers of primer later, it was time for wet sanding, then color coats. The paint was ready for an overnight cure before sunset cocktail hour – twenty-four hours from a shattered part to one which looked better than it did before!
Some might ask, “why not just buy a new wheel pant and start over?” Those “some” would be the ones that have not fitted a pant, aligned it, and done intersection fairing before…. No – as long as the intersection area and mounting points are intact, there really isn’t much that you can’t fix on a pant. All it takes is a little resin, fiber, paint – and an eye for lines.
If you fly your RV a lot, the time will come when a wheel pant goes someplace where it shouldn’t be, and your will (and fiberglass skills) shall be tested…."The game's afoot..."
Paul
?Alas Poor Wheel Pant, I Knew Thee Well?.?
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