RE: Pfalz DIII resources -- Photos, Drawings, Plans, etc.
A few pictures of progress with the spinner. The red blank is wax machinists use to test cnc milling machine programs. I used to turn a male mold to layup the carbon and glass. I found the best tool to cut the wax on the lathe is a cabinet scraper with a nice burr rolled on the edge. It peels the wax off beautifully. The gray piece screwed to the wax is PVC, to hold it in the lathe. The balloon is a tip Alan (ars) mentioned earlier in this thread and is a great idea: Push an inflated balloon down on the wet layup as you let air out of the balloon, allowing it to envelop the mold. The elastic tension holds the fibers tight against the mold. Thank you again Alan!! A little heat was need to soften the wax to pop the mold out.
The spinner still has to be painted and balanced. I turned a little AL plug (not shown) for the nose of the spinner to cover the screw, with an O-ring to hold it in. I used a commercial backplate. The little stepped shaft is so I can assemble the spinner and mount it back in the lathe to true it up and sand it.
The last shot shows the plane hanging from a 2X6 for final balance and weight check. Dry CG seems good: 35% average (weighted by wing area, i.e., 44% upper, 20% lower). Final weight dry is 25 lbs. My daughter was happy to see it flying (well, wheels off the ground)! Oil is on order. Should start the break in next week, fly in a couple. Club members insist I can't bring it out without the teddy bear.
Stay tuned!!