Sagging filler

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Sagging filler

2 pictures on this page - scroll down to see the rest

Filler sagging at rudder root: 2004-05-10.

Canon AV-1, Fujichrome Velvia 100F

To coat the curved ends of the rudder, I used a slightly thinner filler mixture than for the flat surfaces. I erred just a bit too far on the side of thin, as it started to sag before it cured. This was my second attempt to get the consistency right; on the first try (at the tip) the drips were much worse, so at least I'm moving in the right direction. The really dry filler is reluctant to stick, even to the flatter surfaces; a slightly wetter mix is easier to work with, although it has the penalty of being slightly heavier and harder to sand.

Note that although I have an XS kit with the extended tailwheel as standard, this bottom corner of the rudder shows no evidence of the XS rudder horn. I am using Graham Singleton's mod to revert to the internal rudder horn as used on the Classic.

Bubbles in filler on rudder root: 2004-05-10.

Canon AV-1, Fujichrome Velvia 100F

Another unpleasing aspect of the filler on the root of the rudder was that it cured with small bubbles in it, mostly in one area. I don't know why this happened - it wasn't a problem for most of the other filling including the tip end which was slightly more runny than this batch.

Measurements on several other Europas allowed me to estimate where I should round off the bottom corner of the rudder (top left of the picture) to clear the XS tailwheel leg. At top right is the leading edge recess for CS29, the original Classic rudder horn.

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