RV14/10 (Maybe others?) Rudder Fairing Light Cutout Delete

[bkervaski]

Looking for tips on how to remove the light cutout on a 14/10 bottom rudder fairing where no tail light is planned.

I'm okay (amature hour) with fiberglass work and just grinding it off, filling, and shaping it seems to be the only way I know how to do it and am concerned about adding unecessary weight. Then there's the trailing edge itself, not certain how to ensure it's integrity.

Looking for suggestions on how to tackle this, thanks in advance!

 

[mulde35d]

Looking for tips on how to remove the light cutout on a 14/10 bottom rudder fairing where no tail light is planned.

I'm okay (amature hour) with fiberglass work and just grinding it off, filling, and shaping it seems to be the only way I know how to do it and am concerned about adding unecessary weight. Then there's the trailing edge itself, not certain how to ensure it's integrity.

Looking for suggestions on how to tackle this, thanks in advance!

I filled the area with expanding foam first and then cutoff the excess fiberglass. I then did a layer of fiberglass cloth over the openings and finished with micro. The foam gave a supportive backing against which to lay the fiberglass cloth. Hard to tell it was even there at this point.

 

[JDA_BTR]

I think that you could easily rough up the inside of the hole perimeter and lay a 2-ply fiberglass patch on the inside. Let it cure, then flox or maybe even micro a flush layer on top, sand all smooth. I think all the fairings are 4-ply, but this isn't a strength part in any way.

 

[Reflex]

Adding weight at this location is certainly the main concern. No matter what you do, you're adding some weight waaay out on the end of the rudder.

On the other hand, you're removing the light which is the farthest aft item on the rudder/airplane. I think I'd weigh the light and see how the weight corresponds to the weight that would be added by making the scarf/repair. My guess is that you would be adding less material than you would be taking off after removing the light.

Is that splitting hairs? Yes, but that far back on the control surface, splitting hairs is necessary.

 

[stigaro]

I've been thinking of doing the same thing, but I hadn't really thought about the weight. To make a flush patch without accounting for overlap, you're removing more material than you're adding. Add a couple more layers of cloth for overlap and you might come in a the same total weight. Of course, this doesn't account for the light you are not adding now, so that's probably another 100 g (AEROLED Suntail) you're saving.

 

[Desert Rat]

vans makes that fairing without the nav light blister for the 7-8-9 rudder. It's part # R-411-W/O on the store page. Might be worth checking with them to see if it exists for the 10/14.

If not, I would cut it out, sand a scarf into the outside, then tape over that with some 200 mph tape (or whatever you devise that will temporarily hold the shape) from the outside, lay up 3-4 layers of cloth from the inside, then once that dried, peel off the tape and fill it from the outside with flox with the edges blended into the scarf. No way that will weigh more than the light that would be there otherwise.

 

[bkervaski]

vans makes that fairing without the nav light blister for the 7-8-9 rudder. It's part # R-411-W/O on the store page. Might be worth checking with them to see if it exists for the 10/14.

I did, it doesn't

 

[BruceW]

What Desert Rat said. Except maybe think about two pieces of small aluminum sheet with packing tap ( non stick) on the inside to make a form for glass on the outside.
Fiberglass fun!

 

[mulde35d]

Honestly, it was not hard. Last picture is after primer, you would never know a difference

 

[bkervaski]

@mulde35d Thank you for the pics!