I painted the Stol Speed VG's stain black to match everything else yesterday. Pretty straight forward, just put several coats on and let them dry overnight. I put three strips of blue tape sticky side up on the box and taped them down. Then stuck all 256 VG's to the tape for painting.
I spent the last day of the year installing the painted VG's on the right wing. I used the 60mm spacing template from the root of the wing out to the Aileron bay and then the 30mm spacing template to the wing tip.
I did the detail work on the Aerographics for the wings yesterday and today.
Yesterday, I did the detailed rivet work, evacuating the excess water and pushing the tape in around the rivet heads. I also cut out the spoiler slots.
Today, I had to finish off the corners of both fuel tank covers.
The next task was to cut and install patches where the stripes were cut at the fuel tank covers. As the stripes were one piece, when they were cut, it left a gap that could be seen. I wanted to cover that gap and wrap it into the tank bay. If you look closely at the pic you can see the seam of the patch just out side the rivets next to the tank bay in the black field.
I managed to get all the left wing stripes on today. At least they're on, I'll need to finish them up tomorrow, I have all the detail work.
I also installed two more inspection rings on the bottom of the left wing that I needed to add. One of the rings will give me access to the Garmin Heated/Regulated box mounted in the wing. The other will give access to the Static and AOA air lines. I'll cut the fabric out tomorrow.
Spent the last couple of days putting the wing stripes on the right wing. The stripes were produced by Aerographics in Colorado. All three stripes came on one roll to provide the correct spacing however, it was just way too big for me to handle by myself. So, I made a template of the the pointy end and laid the whole thing on top of the wing and marked where the stripes crossed the trailing edge of the wing. This enabled me to cut them into individual stripes to make it much more manageable and still allow me to achieve the correct spacing. I started with the largest stripe and it was a handful. Half way into it I was really glad I had not attempted to do it all as one piece.
To those that have never done vinyl striping, there are three components to the piece. A clear plastic film, the vinyl tape, and a backing piece. You begin by peeling off the clear film which exposes the sticky side of the vinyl tape you are applying. The area where you intend to apply the tape is sprayed with a mixture of water/Dawn dish washing liquid. This gives you a bit of time to position the vinyl tape where you want it and then you squeegee out the excess water when you're happy with the position. It helps to also spray the vinyl tape directly before you apply it to the whetted area. Once you've squeegeed most of the water out and you're pleased with the placement, you then peel the backing off the vinyl tape leaving just the tape behind. Then you continue squeegeeing the water/bubbles out from under the vinyl tape. This takes some time and you won't get all the water out. It will eventually evaporate and will do so much quicker in hotter weather. You leave it to set up overnight and can then do the detail work of getting it pushed down around rivet heads, trimmed, etc.
Anyway, here are a few shots of the work in progress on the right wing.
Got the slats figured out today... for the most part. Got them installed and working... for the most part. I have a few questions for the factory tomorrow. Mainly just making sure I've got everything installed correctly. There are some spacing issues, bumper issues, and trailing edge gap issues. Once I get answers from the factory and fix, change whatever needs to be done, I'll be finished with the wings. They'll be ready to mount on the fuselage.
Here is a quick video of the slats in action...
Today I set about to install the slats. After messing with them for quite some time, I had identified a couple of problems.
First, I again had problems with the outer bearing cups, that is, the bearings not seating all the way into the cups as they should. The problem was the powder coat, it had to be removed so, I took a small piece of sand paper and worked each cup until the bearing would freely sit down it the cup. These cups are easy to get to.
Second, the inner bearing cups are much harder to reach. Fortunately, I only had one that was an issue on the right wing. I haven't attacked the left wing yet and don't know what awaits me there. Anyway, I was able to use my socket with sandpaper solution to ream the one cup out.
Third, the large washers that sit under the bearings as a shim, were also not fitting into the cups. After a lot of back and forth, filing, fitting, filing, I got them to fit as well.
Fourth, fitting the slats is a total trial and error proposition. It is total guess work as to how many shims it will take and in what position they need to be in to make the slat function as it should and line up correctly. This is where I called it a day. I managed to get both slats on the right wing on, tomorrow I'll tackle getting them to work correctly.
I began the day with some small tidy tasks that needed to be done.
First, I painted the outer wing tip ribs. Not necessary, but it looks much neater and provides some extra corrosion protection. The area won't be seen once the wing tips are installed, but it finishes off the end of the wing nicely.
Next up, I began installing the Slats for the final time. I started with the slat arms. No surprises here as I had pre-installed them before sending the arms and slats to powder coat. They went in without issue and look pretty good. After they were installed, I hit them and the leading edge of the wing with John's 360 Avenger ceramic coating.
Then I started figuring out the Slats themselves. They are "handed" meaning they each go in a specific position on the wings. Once I figured out where each one was to be installed, I began the process.
I only got the first one on the arms when I realized the powder coat was going to need to be removed from the bearing cups on the slats. I checked them all out and they all need reaming. So, that was the end of the day. I'll take up the reaming process tomorrow. Once that is done, then back to the fitting process.
By the way, it is much easier to fit the slats while the wings are on the rotisserie vs when the wings are installed on the aircraft. As you see in the pic, the best way is with the wing upside down. Once I have them all installed and adjusted, the wings will be ready for installation on the plane.