All FAP Panls Joined

The fourth, and final, Fold-A-Plane (FAP) panel has finally joined the other three. I have colored them in this image so that they are easier to distinguish.

Right now they are only bonded together with micro (a thick paste made from epoxy and glass micro-ballons), but soon the joints will be overlaid with 4" wide strips of BID to make them secure.

Time Spent Today: 2.0 hr

All FAP Panels Completed

Yesterday we glassed the last side of the last FAP panel.

Time Spent Today: 4.0 hr

Back On Track

Over the Labor Day weekend I managed to cut out the broken panels, make new ones (including a layer of UNI and BID on one side), and get them glassed in place. Today I glued the three completed panels together again, which is where we were when we discovered the issue with the fractured foam in the original panels.  I used some super glue to attach a couple of sticks across the assembly to keep those panels (shaded green in the photo) from being damaged again.

Time Spent over the Holiday: 6.0 hr
Time Spent Today: 1.0 hr

Oops

When using the Fold A Plane (FAP) technique you only glass one side of certain panels until after the folding task is complete. As mentioned in an earlier post, even a light coat of epoxy, even without glass in it, is enough to prevent the panels bending in the way they need to.  One thing to note is that a properly prepared, glassed-on-one-side panel is still a fragile thing; prone to bending the wrong way and breaking. That is what has happened in the pictures. Two smallish panels, that have heavy panels on their outboard ends bent backwards and the foam snapped. One obvious issue with the break is that the panel does not bend in a smooth radius any more.

Bent this way until the foam snapped.

Now looks funny when bending.

 Nothing to do but replace the broken panels with two new glassed-on-one-side panels.

  

Time Spent Today: 1.0 hr