Right side (22.5 hrs)
In this post I am going to complete the longeron repairs by finishing the right one. I’ll mostly dump the photos here and add some comments. For a more thorough explanation of what and why, check out the left longeron repair.
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| Broken longeron with 3D printed ABS cutting guide nailed to it |
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| Longeron getting cut along the 7:1 cutting jig |
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| A top view of the surgery |
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| Removing the damaged longeron from the fuselage |
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| What it looked like right after the two sawing operations |
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| All cleaned up and ready to get worked on |
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| This fiberglass corner got damaged during the fall, and will need to be replaced. |
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| I started by floxing the part where the foam got removed. I reused the jig to contain the flox. |
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| After a little sanding, I had a flat base for the next operation. |
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| The 3D printed ABS jig was used again (on a table) to cut this longeron splice |
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| 2 BID plies at 45ยบ replace the original substrate. Most of this will be eventually cut off to accommodate the CS spar. |
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| Right after peel-ply removal, the next day. |
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| BID trimmed down to size |
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| Getting ready for the longeron splice installation |
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| Once again, flox only was used as a bonding agent. |
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| Flox added to both sides of the splice, and the sidewall. |
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| Careful longeron alignment |
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| Pressure added during the cure |
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| Laying out a plan for the outer fiberglass replacement |
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| Original fiberglass sanded in accordance with the plans' repair section (page 3-22) |
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| First layer of UNI being laid |
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| UNI saturated with epoxy |
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| Second layer of UNI laid with opposite orientation (as per plans) |
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| Second layer wetted with pure epoxy |
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| Additional BID layer to cover the repair |
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| With the surgery completed, this patient needs some rest time to be fully cured. |
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| Peel-ply bandages, and Saran wrap to keep air from infiltrating. |
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| Finished outer repair |
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| Prepping for the "inside job" |
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| BID pre-preg ready to be impregnated |
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| Epoxy mixed with Cab-o-Sil painted over longeron and sidewall. A flox fillet was added in the bottom corner. |
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| Pre-preg applied to the fuselage. All air bubbles were later squeegeed out. |
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| Inner repair after the addition of peel-ply |
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| Peel-ply removed the next day |
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| This longeron repair is done! |
