fuselage sides

[jany77]

hi guys i have guestion about laying the fuselage sides ,the manual say lay on flat table but in next chapter is drawing which shows front and back side narrower than rest of bulkheads so im trying find out what to do with this i bought fuselage with couple of parts from guy next door hanger for free ill use just some parts but want make new fuselage and im not sure is after cure can the sides be bended to proper shape thanks for responses

[Kent Ashton]

hi guys i have guestion about laying the fuselage sides ,the manual say lay on flat table but in next chapter is drawing which shows front and back side narrower than rest of bulkheads so im trying find out what to do with this i bought fuselage with couple of parts from guy next door hanger for free ill use just some parts but want make new fuselage and im not sure is after cure can the sides be bended to proper shape thanks for responses

Why don't you tell us something about yourself and what kind of airplane you're building (there are several canard versions)? If you're building a Long-EZ, the plans call for a simple jig on the work table to give curvature to the sides. If you don't have Long-EZ plans, they're available on a "TERF" CD. Search this site and the site below for TERF or "open EZ".

 

http://canardaviationforum.dmt.net/

[jany77]

hi guys im building long ez from original set of plans ,i was reading the plans months and did not find any simple jig for curvate,if somebody point it where exactly it is in plans ill appreciate it thank you

[Jon Matcho]

Check out chapter 5 -- anything in there abound the side jigs? I'm out of town, and away from my Long-EZ plans, but chap. 5 should be the one with the jigs.

[jany77]

thanks but i was going over ch 4,5,6,7 thousands of time and there is none about jigs maybe im dumb but dont see any

[Jon Matcho]

Could be the case. I'll check when I get back from vacation on Tuesday night.

[Kent Ashton]

I'm a Cozy builder but I looked at my Long-EZ plans and it looks like you're right--I didn't see any jig shown for giving curvature to the sides.

 

But . . . the cozys use a simple jig, two long pieces of particle board cut to the curvature of the sides and bonded to the work table. The foam sides get weighted into the shape of the curve and temporarily hot-glued in place, then the inside glass and longerons are installed. I'm sure you can find some pictures in the builder pages at

http://www.maddyhome.com/canardpages/main

 

It'd be easy to take width measurements off the EZ bulkheads and make a similar jig to give shape to the sides. You might want to add a couple inches to the back seat width while you're at it.

 

(Nat added a lot of tips and info in the Mark IV plans.)

[jany77]

thank you i figured it out after bulkheads are don ill make measurement and then ill find out how big curvate i need

[rpellicciotti]

For the Long-EZ:

After laying out the dimensions and sanding the depressions in the side of the fuselage, you glass the inside of the fuselage sides only (chapter 5, steps 1 & 2).

 

With the foam sides glassed on the inside only, you can easily bend them enough to mate up with the bulkheads. Once the sides and bulkheads are bonded together (chapter 6 step 1), you carve the outside of the fuselage to shape and then glass it (chapter 6 steps 2 and 3).

 

The Cozy, E-Racer and other side by side designs use a jig to build in the curvature of the fuselage as it is a more severe curve and some "pre bending" of the foam is desired before glassing the inside. This technique could be used for the Long-EZ but is not required.

[jany77]

thank you ,that makes life easyier,not spend some extra hours to build jig