Gear leg intersection fairings

[Bill.Peyton]

I am ready to begin the installation of the intersection fairings section 48-11. The plans call for locating them on the wheel pant and the gear leg fairings, then adding 2 layers of 9 oz glass to them while they are installated on the aircraft.
Is there any reason why the glass could not be added prior to installation? I would think that two addtional layers should not add enough stifness to affect the installation. At least one aftermarket manufacturer sells these fairings in their completed state. It seems like a much easier task and a better way to get a smooth layup to install the glass first.
Any comments before I begin?
Has anyone else tried this approach?

 

[Wayne Gillispie]

That is the way I did mine. They were not flexible enough to be of any help and I sure did not want to buy or fab new ones. No they won't win any awards and I probably lost a couple of knots top speed...Thanks to Van's fg vendor. I don't mind going slow at 60% pwr and 142 kias at 5500'. Gives me more time to view the beautiful scenery. About the nicest fg on my plane is the spinner! Hey that the first thing everyone looks at right?

I am looking forward to seeing Bill P., Bob L. and Andy T. get some hot humid summer air under those wings. We are going to have a big group of family haulers before long.

 

[aturner]

I did mine both ways (off the airplane for the uppers), seemed to work out OK both ways. I eliminated the risk of building a twist into the upper fairings by fitting them to the airplane and drilling a couple of #40 holes for clecos near the trailing edge (much of which gets trimmed off), then taking it back off and laying up the additional fiberglass. I've spent way too much time on these, and am not done yet. Another one of those steps that would go a lot faster if only I knew what the heck I was doing.

 

[Janekom]

The ones I sell you do not need to add glass. Fit them as they are supplied.

 

[Bill.Peyton]

Jan,
I have seen yours and they look great! I am so far over my budget I just can not afford any more "add-ons" or I would order them. They sure would save time!

 

[9GT]

Jan,
I have seen yours and they look great! I am so far over my budget I just can not afford any more "add-ons" or I would order them. They sure would save time!

Me too. I wanted them but with budget constraints I used what came with the kit. I just installed mine today. It took my building buddy and I about 7 hours to get the plane set-up and the leg fairings aligned, prep the cuffs, tape off the surfaces, and lay-up 2 plies of BID and peel ply the lay-ups. We used good carpet grade two way tape to help hold the cuffs in position against the wheel fairings and fuselage. It took about as long as we planned it would take and we both are experienced composite guy's having built a couple Cozy MKIV's from scratch. Still gotta trim, fill, sand, then install the nut plates. If those cuffs from Janekom are as nice as folks say they are, they are well worth the price!

 

[Janekom]

Thanks for the compliments guys, but I understand - the ecomomy is tough all over the world.