Started covering the right elevator Saturday. Because of the shape I decided to do it in two halves rather than a blanket. I began by laying out the frame on the fabric and cutting to size. I cut both the top and the bottom fabric. The next step was to draw out the frame lines on the back of both pieces to show where the glue must go. Next I applied the first coat of glue to both the frame the two fabric sides.
The glue must completely dry before applying a second coat on the frame and fabric. I let it sit up for several hours and then brushed on the second coats. That was left overnight to cure.
Sunday I started covering. I start with the bottom because I want the seams on the bottom side when finished. So, the bottom fabric wraps around the outside tubes into the inside, then the top fabric wraps around the tubes and attaches to the bottom fabric. After attaching the bottom fabric it was left to cure for 24hrs before shrinking with the iron.
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| Inside of right elevator bottom fabric installed |
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| Inside of right elevator bottom fabric installed |
Monday I inspected the bottom fabric installation and hit it with the Toko iron set to 160 degrees C. It tightened right up.
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| Bottom fabric on right elevator before shrinking |
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| Bottom fabric on right elevator before shrinking |
I then cleaned the fabric around the edges with the special Acetone cleaner. Then taped off the fabric leaving a one inch gap all the way around the edge for glue. I applied the first coat of glue on the fabric and let it dry. After the second coat was applied, I removed the tape which gave a nice straight clean glue line. After all the glue dried I began attaching the top piece of fabric. I finished attaching the fabric and allowed it to cure overnight.
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| Bottom fabric on right elevator after shrinking |
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| Bottom fabric on right elevator after shrinking |
Tuesday, I inspected the fabric and tightened it up with the Toko iron. Beautiful. I then set about applying the finish tapes around the entire outside edge of the elevator. After thinking about it a little while, I began with the trailing edge because I wanted to have the seams covered by the side tapes, then the sides covered by the leading edge tapes.
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| Top of right elevator after shrinking and finishing tapes |
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| Top of right elevator after shrinking and finishing tapes |
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| Bottom of right elevator after shrinking and finishing tapes |
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| Bottom of right elevator after shrinking and finishing tapes |
After several hours I completed the elevator. I'll finish up by installing seaplane drain holes to allow any moisture that accumulates inside the elevator to escape.
One piece down, many to go...
