As a new (returning) builder, I've wondered about a few things that seem pretty ill-defined. Things like, how rounded to skin corners need to be? How broke (broken?) do skin edges need to be? And, of course, what to prime, if anything?
Turns out I have a source for all of those answers, or at least insight into how certain Wichita pros did it in 1970: my V35B Bonanza. So, off to the hangar I went.......
First, the corners. This is the front of the right-sided cowling. It's a little beat up, but it's 45 years old:
But that isn't where they crack. This is where they crack, at the first hinge rivet:
Then there's the lap joints. I don't see that any of them are broke (breaked?). But the skins are also much thicker than RV skins. My finger is there for scale. Looking closely, I suspect a lot of these corners were done by hand.
Some corners aren't radiused at all, but I've never heard of one cracking:
As an aside, I wonder how they got to the shop head on this one:
And my own entries into Primer Wars:
Here, notice the only things primed are the ruddervator mixer, which I think is steel, and the doublers behind the antennas, which were added on at some later date:
Not to say I'm not priming anything; just making conversation.
Happy New Year, VAF!
Turns out I have a source for all of those answers, or at least insight into how certain Wichita pros did it in 1970: my V35B Bonanza. So, off to the hangar I went.......
First, the corners. This is the front of the right-sided cowling. It's a little beat up, but it's 45 years old:
But that isn't where they crack. This is where they crack, at the first hinge rivet:
Then there's the lap joints. I don't see that any of them are broke (breaked?). But the skins are also much thicker than RV skins. My finger is there for scale. Looking closely, I suspect a lot of these corners were done by hand.
Some corners aren't radiused at all, but I've never heard of one cracking:
As an aside, I wonder how they got to the shop head on this one:
And my own entries into Primer Wars:
Here, notice the only things primed are the ruddervator mixer, which I think is steel, and the doublers behind the antennas, which were added on at some later date:
Not to say I'm not priming anything; just making conversation.
Happy New Year, VAF!