Wednesday, May 31, 2017

36-12 Front Strut Fairing

This piece is one of the few that is not done by The Book.  The Book calls for a hidden piano hinge inside the trailing edge.  I had significant difficulty getting this to align and work properly.  I eventually discarded this and just went with the natural rigidity of the fiberglass and the excellent form-fit it has relative to the front strut.  There are two screws that hold it in place and I believe that this is more than adequate retention.  

Alas, I got a bit too confident with the process of drilling and tapping the holes for said screws and discovered that it indeed possible to break off a tap.  I used a dremel grinding drum to dress off the broken fragments sticking out, drove to the local hardware store for a replacement and was more careful putting in another tapped hole 1 cm away.  The two screws aren’t exactly aligned, and that bothers my eye, but it serves as a good reminder of how to be a careful builder.

 

IMG 5720

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