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updated: 09/05/2022
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05/04/2005 – As I don’t have any material yet to do any of the training exercises within Chapter 3, I will take the time to carefully read everything thoroughly, up to the beginning of Chapter 4. I received the Burt Rutan videotape with my plans and have already watched it 3 times. The videotape is excellent and reinforces everything Nat has detailed in the plans, right from the cutting and handling of the fibre cloth, the mixing and handling of the epoxy, including the use of glass Microballoons to create wet & dry micro slurry and when to use flox, through to foam cutting and lay-ups. The videotape clearly shows the benefits of using Peel Ply and I will certainly be purchasing enough to enable me to Peel Ply as much as I can. This should save time on sanding and also give me a better finish. I have decided
not to use the ratio pump method for measuring out the MGS epoxy and have bought
a MM-2000 Digital Scale (2kg x 1g). I
think this will be far more accurate and consistent.
To make measuring out the epoxy easier I have created a laminated Weighing
Reference Sheet in MS Excel for the MGS 285 epoxy, which I will pin
to the wall next to the scale for quick reference. As I intend to Peel Ply as much as I can, I’m going to need more peel ply than called for in the Plans and apparently most synthetic fibres like Nylon, Polyester and Dacron can all be used as Peel Ply. It is necessary, though, that the fibres not be fuzzy, nor the weave a stretch weave. I will pay the local fabric stores a visit and see if I can get some sample swatches to test, before buying a large quantity. I will also be trying the Plastic Peel ply method on the bulkheads in Chapter 4. Update – 15/03/2006 – I managed to source Nylon Peel Ply from a boat-building supplier in Sydney, 1.4 metres wide for $5.00 per metre. I have purchased 10 metres initially and will carry out tests whilst laying up the fuselage bottom. I later learnt that they also stock aircraft grade Birch Plywood and Hoop pine.31/10/2005 – After waiting nearly 8 months to get started I have decided to move straight onto chapter 4 without doing the test pieces in Chapter 3. I feel quite comfortable with what I have learnt by watching the videotape, reading the manuals and surfing the web. Besides Chapter 4 seems to be pretty straightforward and should be a good starting point for me. 10/03/2006 – With Chapter 5 completed and the fuselage sides and
bulkheads setup for final assembly, I have been thinking about and looking at
various options with regards to the hot wire foam cutter. Instead of
buying a separate 18 volt 4 amp transformer and light dimmer switch, I managed
to find the following regulated Power Supply from Altronics
and bought it on sale for $99,00.
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