Justin's Raven

[justin.schoeman]

At last - pulled the mold off the plug. A few minor imperfections, but should be easy to clean up. Also have some bits of mold stuck around the air inlets - gonna be fun cleaning that off!

Broke the plug up to discover that the engine is absolutely covered covered in dirt - did not think about what would happen once I had opened the air vents. All that sanding dust ended up inside the plug. So that is another huge cleanup to come. But at least the last big job is done!

Will fly soon. Promise!

[Scotsman]

Good stuff man keep going (if only for our sake...I need the motivation)....j

[justin.schoeman]

If I was a drinking man, tonight would be a good night to go get thoroughly sloshed... The culmination of 2 1/2 months work, and the bottom cowl stuck in the mold . 2 Really bad spots, but salvageable. I hope. The mold is also going to need a lot of work before it can be used again.

I can't really understand how it happened though. I have never had a part stick before. I had 5 good layer of wax on there, and not the slightest hitch wiping a soft cotton cloth on the surface - it was smooth, clean and well waxed. To make it worse, the really complex curves around the oil cooler inlet popped out perfectly - it only stuck on the flat(er) areas... And it bonded so well, that I pulled chunks of the mold's gel coat out with the cowl - bonded as if it was a nicely sanded and acetone washed surface!

I hope the top cowl comes out cleanly - that is mostly flat areas!

[justin.schoeman]

Well, the top cowl cameout slick as snot - two complex air inlets and all. Still no idea how I managed to stuff the bottom one up...

[Tailspin]

Justin

Murphy has been playing again.
Maybe it was just the Planes way of saying it is time to go flying and you need to get finished now

[justin.schoeman]

Justin

Murphy has been playing again.
Maybe it was just the Planes way of saying it is time to go flying and you need to get finished now

Eish. If it wanted to fly, that %^&*(* bottow cowl would have come out cleanly too. Gonna take a couple of evenings to fix that one...

[Boet]

Hei man, I cry with you. Like you needed THAT. Happened to me too a couple of times, but only where I did not put enough wax !!!

[justin.schoeman]

Hei man, I cry with you. Like you needed THAT. Happened to me too a couple of times, but only where I did not put enough wax !!!

Yup. Somehow I must have stuffed up. Maybe missed those particular spots on one or two layers, or did not let the wax set up long enough before polishing. Must have done something wrong.

Really chuffed with the top cowl though. Some really nasty, tight curves around the inlets, and they came out perfectly. Two small air bubbles on the inside lips, but easy to clean that up.

[Jean Crous]

Hey Justin maybe you should turn the mould upside down next time ........then the bottom cowl(which is then the at the top) will come out nicely.... ......or maybe not
Only pulling your socks
Regards
Jean

[justin.schoeman]

Rough trimmed, and trial fit the cowl tonight. Fits perfectly, and (I think) looks quite good.

Cowl attached with Super Universal Cowl Attachment System (masking tape):

From the front, you can see the boo-boos on the lower cowl:

The cowl is pretty rigid all round, but probably a little too flexible on the large flat areas at the top and bottom. I will add a small reinforcing ridge tomorrow, as well as adding a flange to the nose section. As long as I don't get too cold/lazy, I should be done by the weekend!

[Low Level]

Hey Justin

Following your thread in silence, and thumbs up for your perseverance for getting it right.

How about putting a little smiley on that face when you paint it. Geez man. The plane looks, like you must feel after all this sanding etc.

[James Bentley]

Sorry to hear about your stick up on the mould Justin

the composites fabricators curse

what wax were you using?

from a belts and braces perspective we always use a sacrificial release agent in addition to the wax (Poly vinyl alcohol)and never have problems

unfortunately this method can sometimes leave a little imprint on the mould but this is easily polished out...
well worth the effort though!

James

[justin.schoeman]

Sorry to hear about your stick up on the mould Justin

the composites fabricators curse

what wax were you using?

from a belts and braces perspective we always use a sacrificial release agent in addition to the wax (Poly vinyl alcohol)and never have problems

unfortunately this method can sometimes leave a little imprint on the mould but this is easily polished out...
well worth the effort though!

James

Using Maguires No 8. Always worked perfectly for model parts. I am kicking myself for not using the PVA. Was contemplating shooting a coat, but thought 'Nah - nothing has stuck yet - what's the chance...' . Live and learn .

[t-bird]

Gei bal ,Gey bal ,Gei Bliksem bal , maar dit is ‘n mooi Aerie

[justin.schoeman]

Gei bal ,Gey bal ,Gei Bliksem bal , maar dit is ‘n mooi Aerie

Thanks T-Bird - hope it flies as good as it looks .