Back at it on Saturday. I’ve decided that I have got to be the slowest coverer on the planet! [:'(] This whole process took me about 2.5 hours this morning. I am very satisfied with the results, I just wish I could get there faster … shrug

Picture1 shows how I start putting together the sheets of covering so I can attach as a single sheet. I like doing it this was so I can ignore where the solid surfaces are under the covering. Today I finished the left bottom of the bottom wing and the bottom’s of the bottom ailerons. Picture2 shows the completed bottom wing with the ailerons spaced beneath.

When covering the tip I figured I’d show how horrible it looks about ½ way through the process. The first time I did this, I thought I had ruined the tip completely. This is more a testament to Ultracote than my skills, but you can certainly see how forgiving that material is. On this particular build, the black is Monocote and the White is Ultracoat – no reason other than that’s what I had.

Picture3 shows the wingtip after I had tacked down the covering on the top, bottom and center of the ellipse. I had also stretched the covering and tacked it down between the top and center sections. Picture4 shows the wingtip after I had completely stretched and ironed down the edges. This is truly a scary sight to behold isn’t it? [:-] Ultracoat shrinks very well and Picture5 shows the tip after I hit it with the heat gun… amazing difference, eh? There were still a few very minor blemishes in the tip that came out with my trim iron (picture6).

Next I have to flip over the wing and make the sunburst for the top. We’ll see how far I progress the rest of the weekend – probably not much given my schedule. I do feel very good, however, about picking this back up.

Picture1 – Creating the full sheet
Picture2 – Bottom of bottom wing completed
Picture3 – Tacking covering on wingtip
Picture4 – Wingtip ready for the heat gun
Picture5 – Wingtip post heat gun
Picture6 – Wingtip after some touchup with trim iron


-MA