So, things are moving along with the build. My mast is assuming its final shape and the mountingplate and fuse is now attached. I have reshaped my board, layed in inserts for hooks/straps and will soon start reinforcing it.
I have also started on the wing layup, front wing will be 50 x 15cm and the back wing 40 x 8cm, right now they have a lot of extra so i can shape them later. Rear wing will have quite large winglets for yaw stability. Stainless nuts have been layed into the wood, and will get a carbon cover tomorrow i hope.
Almost no more wood shaping left, now only layup of carbon and finboxes and reinforcement of the board. Got to hurry, leaving this place soon!
Below comes some pics of the process. Some parts look a bit rough, because they are. its all hand lay up guided (and mostly done) by Demian, and then i will bake it all in the end to fuse the layers together. Vacuum takes too much time at this stage, and Demian has a lot of other work. So i just add another layer instead to make it strong enough =)
Enjoy!
Getting the mast straight in the baseplate. Masking tape and a rusty measuring tape served as my tools. Seems good =)
Board taking shape. Had to fix a compression damage close to the tail. Good thing this is what Demian does all day long, so i learn aswell. Filled w epoxy foam and will be covered when the rest of the board gets reinforced. Used to be a 6,3 epoxy surf board. "Bilt" i believe the brand is.
Mounting plate sanded down, predrilled and fillered. 5 layers of 600g carbon on each side, again Demian is shaking his head and im smiling. Strong is good. Carbon was "pre-pregged" on a vinyl sheet before layup, i learn every day! =) A thing veil of carbon covering the base plate for cosmetics.
Connection sanded down. I was careful not to sand on the middle, to preserve the fibers integrity and strenght. Only trimmed of the ugly edges. Seems real solid. As you can see, i performed a highly scientifical flex test on the mast. I weigh around 92kg, so someone do the math. I hope its stiff enough. The mast and plate comes in right under 2kg as of now. Not too bat i think...
Insert time! The fuse has now been attached. The part towards the fiber rolls is the LE where the wing be attached. The part closer to the viewer will be where i attach the rest of the fuse. This solution is to make travelling easier, while still being able to make Demian shake his head again over the connection of the fuse to the strut, to make that super strong. I later put in the nuts into the holes made. I got them straigh by using the screws i have, a washer, and another nut on top. I set a blocking nut on the screw, with a washer, at the desired height to get some extra room under the nut inside the epoxy. I filled the hole w epoxy, screwed teh nut onto the screw and pressed it in. The hole was just enought to get the nut in, so the wood is supporting the nut and stops it from rotating a bit. The washer made sure the nut was flush with the wood and that it got leveled and not crooked.
The board now also has inserts. No reinforcement yet, but nose and tail have got their fiber on.
Layup time for the fuse connection. 4 layers on each side, 600g carbon. You can also see the stainless nuts layed in the fuse. The connection wood to wood was already very tight, so i am pretty confident this will hold up.
Wings! Simple layup, an MDF "mold" with a curve for the front wing and straight lines for the rear wing. The front wing will have about 5cm concave, the winglets will be about 7cm on the rear wing. on the carbon layer i laid an airex mat. Next step is to shape the airex and then lay more carbon on top, and also on the bottom to make the airfoil shape. The aim is an eppler 817. They were left to rest with sandbags on top for pressure, but only after it had set a bit to avoid sliding.
Thats a long post! Internet here is shaky and time is scarce, so updates are wide apart.
Big shoutout to Revhed for all basic dimensions and guidance! Thanks a lot! Lets hope she flies in the end!
Next up is shaping wings, reinforcing board, puting the finboxes in for attachment, and covering the rest in carbon. Tomorrow im at it again!
