Ivan's RV-7

Preparing the fairingsTimer icon3h

September 8, 2023

Over the last few days, I worked a bit more on the fairings.

To add some support for the rivets that hold the fairings, I added the strips of aluminum inside them. I used my T-88 epoxy glue mixed with some flox to glue the strips in place.

The aluminum backing strips.

Strips glued in place.

Aluminum strips are glued in place.

Then I sanded the fairings to get them ready for a layer of fiberglass cloth added over the weights. I decided to completely remove the gelcoat and refinish them with epoxy, then some primer over it. I found a couple of voids under the gelcoat.

Sanding the gelcoat.

Finally, the fairings are ready for a layer of fiberglass cloth to go over the counterbalance weights.

Prepared for adding a layer of cloth.