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Berni,
I don't have any decent pics of the finished product with paint; can take some if you wish – but the handle and fairing pretty much "disappear" as one of the paint lines runs over the handle.
Hope following and attached pics help a bit.
I chose not to bend the handle, so here's what I did:- - Make up a foam block to fit onto hull behind the handle; sand very roughly to shape (but slightly undersized); you have to of course at this stage very carefully cut / file the recess for the handle
- Wrap the foam plug in 3 BID carbon, trim and then cut out the carbon on the side face to create the recess for the handle (I had to do this twice as I initially made this cut-out too large – so too small is better and then file to get it spot on)
- Flox the piece on, complete with foam, and micro / body work over the top, and of course build up around the front
- For what its worth, I then laid a layer of the very lightweight satin weave glass over the entire piece to make sure I wouldn't get any cracking around the edges and joints to the hull
- Don't cut a notch at the back so you can get a hold of the handle – I did that before it was pointed out to me that all one needs to do is push on the very front edge of the handle and the "tail" pops out (I was going to make third one, so I still have that notch!)
I went to all the trouble with the foam / carbon a) to reduce the amount of flow but b) to make sure the edges – particularly around the handle recess were robust.
Let me know if you want some more pics other than attached.
Regards,
John
John N G Smith
Tel / fax: +61-8-9385-8891
Mobile: +61-409-372-975
Email: john@jjts.net.au
Thanks Rob...I figured the handle should and could be bent to the contour. Now I know it can. I will do that. Clearly, to your other point, it will require a considerable amount of micro to do the body work. It seems that the area below the handle will require much more depth to the micro contour than will the the area above the handle. Is that how yours is done Rob? If you or anyone reading this can give me an idea of how far to start the work below the handle that would help quite a bit. Again, pictures of finished work will be most appreciated.
Berni
On Tuesday, June 5, 2012, wrote: Berni - Two things. First, all you do is make a huge glob of micro on the side of the fuselage. If you look at finished Lancairs, thanks Robyou will see that the glob, when painted, is not objectionable. I agree that it looks weird when you are making it, however. Second, you can make the glob much smaller if you bend the handle. The forward part of the handle that engages with the interior components needs to stay perpendicular to the internal mechanism. However, just aft of this, the fuselage is necking inwards. I bent the handle so that it goes parallel to the fuselage, and this allowed a much smaller glob of mirco. Take the handle apart, tape it to protect the chromed surface, clamp it in a vise, and bend it. That's what I did and it was pretty easy. I think I probably put a block of wood on it and pushed, rather than beating on it with a hammer. But it was so long ago that I don't remember. You should consider how you lift the handle out of the glob. I made a dimple in the micro at the aft end of the handle. I can get my fingertip behind the handle and lift it away from the micro. Sorry, no pictures today... - Rob Wlf
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