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Big Sigh of Relief…….

Ironflight

Ironflight

VAF Moderator / Line Boy
Mentor
Anyone who has laid up a fiberglass windshield frame knows what I am talking about. At least with an -8, you have forward baggage door access if the worst thing happens (and you have a limber tiny five-year old to feed in through the opening…..)! 😉

Now that the scary part is done, I can get down to finishing layups (at least one Carbon layer), filling, sanding, etc…..

IMG_7788.jpeg
 
I just finished trimming the windscreen to fit. Any advice for how to avoid that problem?
 
I couldn't get my 8 canopy open after the layup. After trying everything, I removed the rudder pedals and managed to get inside via the front baggage door opening.
It can be done. In my case it was "just barely". Had to pull knees around, etc. Sorry, no photos.
It was a one-way trip though. I HAD to get it open! My wife was on standby just in case, but I got it open.
 
Yep. I know the feeling. Scared the bejesus out of me to lay multiple layers over a shut canopy. All worked out though, it took a small fine flathead screwdriver to slowly lift a pry and it popped free. Halleluiah. Use plenty release agent or packing tape
 

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The carbon fiber layer(s) is(are) a good idea. I put a few layers on mine and it feels very solid. No fears about just grabbing it to get out of the cockpit.
 
They make a gadget that helps with this if a layup is stuck. It's a thin wedge with an orifice that squirts shop air out the pointy end. You have to be able to get at least one section lifted enough to get the wedge inserted though.

I've laid up quite a bit of fiberglass and am happy to say that I've never needed to buy one...yet.

www.compositeenvisions.com

Air Injected Wedge 7" Wedge Assembly with Air Gun

DescriptionAir Injected Wedge 7" Wedge Assembly with Air Gun Our unique air injected wedge developed at a composite shop to assist when conventional part separation methods have failed. Developed from heavy duty tomahawk shaped B3257 wedge and handle shaped B4012, they facilitate using...
www.compositeenvisions.com www.compositeenvisions.com
 
Desert Rat said:
They make a gadget that helps with this if a layup is stuck. It's a thin wedge with an orifice that squirts shop air out the pointy end. You have to be able to get at least one section lifted enough to get the wedge inserted though.

I've laid up quite a bit of fiberglass and am happy to say that I've never needed to buy one...yet.

www.compositeenvisions.com

Air Injected Wedge 7" Wedge Assembly with Air Gun

DescriptionAir Injected Wedge 7" Wedge Assembly with Air Gun Our unique air injected wedge developed at a composite shop to assist when conventional part separation methods have failed. Developed from heavy duty tomahawk shaped B3257 wedge and handle shaped B4012, they facilitate using...
www.compositeenvisions.com www.compositeenvisions.com
Click to expand...
Damn, they have a tool for everything.
 
Are folks sticking a couple of layers of cling-wrap over the canopy before the layup?

Epoxy won't stick to it, and won't penetrate it. Unless you stretch it enough to put holes in it, the resin can't glue the overlap shut.

- mark
 
Been there. Done that. My 7A. No baggage door. No plastic wrap but packing tape and tons of wax. Still wouldn't release. I fought for hours. Finally with a rope on the latch and a serious yank, it let go. Thought the fuse was toast.

By the way Paul. I saw your tip on AvWeb. I always lay down Frog Yellow Painter's Tape first. It's super thin and leaves no residue. Plus markings show through. Lay the packing tape over it. When you're done, the masking is easily removed with no residue.
 
newt said:
Are folks sticking a couple of layers of cling-wrap over the canopy before the layup?

Epoxy won't stick to it, and won't penetrate it. Unless you stretch it enough to put holes in it, the resin can't glue the overlap shut.

- mark
Click to expand...
You can see that the front of the canopy is covered in electrical tape, so its non-stick. The real problem isn’t it sticking to the surfaces, its that sneaky little bits of resin drip into places you don’t;t expect…..😲.
 
wirejock said:
By the way Paul. I saw your tip on AvWeb. I always lay down Frog Yellow Painter's Tape first. It's super thin and leaves no residue. Plus markings show through. Lay the packing tape over it. When you're done, the masking is easily removed with no residue.
Click to expand...
I saw your response Larry, along with some other god ones! I have a bunch of Kapton, which is super thin - probably try that next time, but also like your idea. I have the fiberglass wing root fairings to fit on this Rocket once the wings go on….more fun with glass!
 
eavila1 said:
Yep. I know the feeling. Scared the bejesus out of me to lay multiple layers over a shut canopy. All worked out though, it took a small fine flathead screwdriver to slowly lift a pry and it popped free. Halleluiah. Use plenty release agent or packing tape
Click to expand...
I use plenty of the Casamingos release agent too..... :)
 
eavila1 said:
Yep. I know the feeling. Scared the bejesus out of me to lay multiple layers over a shut canopy. All worked out though, it took a small fine flathead screwdriver to slowly lift a pry and it popped free. Halleluiah. Use plenty release agent or packing tape
Click to expand...
I've been wondering which cloth to use for this.
 
Ironflight said:
snip
Now that the scary part is done, I can get down to finishing layups (at least one Carbon layer), filling, sanding, etc…..
Click to expand...

I hated that step.....
but
I used 3 plys of carbon (3k) first, then glass on top of that. Glass is WAY easier to sand than carbon.

L
 
I’m right there with you at that stage. Mine came open pretty easy. Had a rope tied to the back brace, and used a clay fillet in the gap between where the slider comes to the windscreen, to keep any resin from migrating down and making a lip that would keep it closed. Used a spray epoxy mold release agent ( several spray layers) and I pulled it open fairly cleanly after doings a fiberglass followed by a CF layer, and then finished up the final layers.
 

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wirejock said:
...I always lay down Frog Yellow Painter's Tape first. It's super thin and leaves no residue. Plus markings show through. Lay the packing tape over it. When you're done, the masking is easily removed with no residue.
Click to expand...
Yes! Especially when making a part fit to a painted surface that you don't want to mess up. (like a wing-body fairing for instance). One careful layer of Frog tape first, with no wrinkles, bubbles, or folds. Then packing tape. Be sure any laps in the packing tape step down in the correct direction to allow the parts to separate. I've seen two parts locked together simply by a scribe line on the surface that the epoxy formed into - maybe 0.002" deep. Then two or three coats of wax.
 
N804RV said:
I just finished trimming the windscreen to fit. Any advice for how to avoid that problem?
Click to expand...
Depends how you do your fairing. I didn't lay mine up directly on the aircraft like the plans call for; instead, I popped it off after it cured and did the trimming and sanding operations off aircraft. Then I Sika'd it back in place (because that's how I atrached the plexi). My fairing doesn't have that seamless blend into the fuselage but frankly I don't care. Fiberglass and I don't get along and that was the path with the highest chance of success.

I did the same thing with the fairing on the slider portion, it's one piece of fiberglass.
 
Quick reminder...I you're planning to include carbon in your layup for stiffness, its placement in the layup makes a lot of difference. Correct would be something like a ply of light glass fabric, then carbon, then several more glass plies, then carbon, and a final layer of glass.

Why? Maximum stiffness is achieved by placing the two carbon plies at some distance from the neutral fiber, i.e. the center of the layup stack. In bending, the fiber at the center of the stack does little, while the outermost fibers carry the load in tension and compression. Placing all the carbon together on one side as an afterthought is less effective.

Why the first and last glass plies? The glass in contact with the airframe is a corrosion insulator. The outer ply is for finish sanding without much chance of cutting into the carbon.
 
DanH said:
Why the first and last glass plies? The glass in contact with the airframe is a corrosion insulator.
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Yeah, I was going to comment about that too. Aluminum is anodic and carbon fiber is cathodic. You don't want them in direct contact because a galvanic cell can form, leading to corrosion of the aluminum.
 
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Ironflight said:
Anyone who has laid up a fiberglass windshield frame knows what I am talking about. At least with an -8, you have forward baggage door access if the worst thing happens (and you have a limber tiny five-year old to feed in through the opening…..)! 😉

Now that the scary part is done, I can get down to finishing layups (at least one Carbon layer), filling, sanding, etc…..

View attachment 104318
Click to expand...
Go to Walmart/ Walgreens and get a jar of mustache wax and put a layer over the tape. Great release agent.
 
DanH said:
Quick reminder...I you're planning to include carbon in your layup for stiffness, its placement in the layup makes a lot of difference. Correct would be something like a ply of light glass fabric, then carbon, then several more glass plies, then carbon, and a final layer of glass.

Why? Maximum stiffness is achieved by placing the two carbon plies at some distance from the neutral fiber, i.e. the center of the layup stack. In bending, the fiber at the center of the stack does little, while the outermost fibers carry the load in tension and compression. Placing all the carbon together on one side as an afterthought is less effective.

Why the first and last glass plies? The glass in contact with the airframe is a corrosion insulator. The outer ply is for finish sanding without much chance of cutting into the carbon.
Click to expand...
CF strength is quite impressive. This was just a fun project. It's a baggage shelf. It rests on the two stiffeners on the sides of the baggage compartment and a clamp on the O² rig. I made it so our dog could have a place behind us.
It's a 3/8 piece of foam and one layer of CF each side and the edges. I haven't tested it, but it's very stiff and weighs 2lbs. I could have left the surface unsealed and saved some weight, but it looks so cool. 20250418_210028.jpg
 
Two coats of release wax, three coats of PVA.

Trick...parts with very little draft angle can be hard to separate from the mold. PVA gets slippery if a little water can get into the joint. It's how I get rubber parts off forms, but it can work with glass too.
 
I attached two ropes on the slider frame and fed it through the tail. So I could pull and release the canopy from the windscreen.
 
There seems to be some polarization as to the appeal of the speed-slope look.
When I saw the picture in Paul’s post I recalled that polarization reflected in a thread he started earlier in his project that requested opinions on the various Rocket canopy configurations.
He just started a poll on Rocket tailfeathers. So I have to ask:
Paul, will we see something other than the latest MK F1 tail on your bird?
The Rockets are so “mix and match.” I wonder if, between canopy and tail, he’s building a true unicorn to stand out in the unicorn herd…
 
andoman said:
There seems to be some polarization as to the appeal of the speed-slope look.
When I saw the picture in Paul’s post I recalled that polarization reflected in a thread he started earlier in his project that requested opinions on the various Rocket canopy configurations.
He just started a poll on Rocket tailfeathers. So I have to ask:
Paul, will we see something other than the latest MK F1 tail on your bird?
The Rockets are so “mix and match.” I wonder if, between canopy and tail, he’s building a true unicorn to stand out in the unicorn herd…
Click to expand...
No secret - I build pretty much to plans with kit-supplied parts (at least when it comes to primary structure), and I have a Mk III tail on this bird because that’s what Vince and Mark wanted me to have! Yup - I went with the standard windshield just because I liked the looks of it slightly better than the speed slope - but that’s just purely esthetics, and I am happy for the folks that like their speed slopes!
 
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