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   One further thought on whether or not to open up more bays to increase
fuel capacity on the ES:  With the extra fuel weight, we are departing the
envelope of known, tested wing characteristics.  The flutter analysis,
structural failure analyses, etc., were all done assuming a max wt of fuel
of 39 gals x 6 = 234 lbs per wing.  By going up to 105 total, there is an
additional 80 lbs, roughly, out there waggling up and down.  Yes, the wing
is hell for stout, but ....

   Wouldn't it be nice if Carsten would post his data base of completed
weights for the ES so we could really see what's typical?  [Maybe we
shouldn't hold our collective breath, eh?]

   The stall speed on my ES was around 70, but after adding gap seals on
all control surfaces, it came down to about 63, dirty.  There were few more
knots in cruise as well.  The gap seal materials all came from Wings 'n
Wheels, a glider supply place ( www.wingsandwheels.com ).  It's a three-part
deal:  there's a double-sided tape about 1/2" wide that goes on first, then
the curved mylar seal tape, then a teflon tape that overlaps the mylar on
the leading edge to smooth the transition.  The double-sided stuff really
sticks, but I did mine before the first wax job; if you've already waxed,
you'll probably want to do some extra cleaning to get a good bond of tape to
paint.  To do all the gaps, upper and lower (ailerons, flaps, elevators, and
rudder) took about one good morning and about $200.  For the different
surfaces and gap geometry I needed three different widths of the mylar seal.
Looks nice, too, I think.  After maybe 30 hours I didn't see any evidence of
corners or edges pulling loose.

Jim Cameron  (once & future ES)

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