I am not happy with my baggage door (sits up 3/32" in front) and have decided to attempt fabrication of a carbon fiber replacement. Why not just buy the parts from Vans and remake the door? Because they're all matched hole now and my kit is an early version. The probability of those parts fitting without a lot of cutting, patching etc are nil. Besides, I haven't worked with carbon fiber and this will be a fun learning experience I hope.
So, I wanted to outline my "plan" and get the feedback from the more experienced (read everyone else out there) composite gurus.
In terms of making a "mold", my plan is to use some thin plastic (an old "for rent" sign) cut to size and shape, and use it to cover the baggage door opening using packing tape, etc. I may use a couple of aluminum stiffeners taped to the back of the plastic to add strength and stiffness. The goal here is to provide a backing for making the mold from fiberglass that will be used for laying up the carbon fiber off the plane.
I figure that I'll lay up 3 plies of glass on the plastic backing, let it cure, remove it from the fuselage, sand, smooth, and seal with neat resin. Then after all that, I'll layup two plies of carbon fiber on the fiberglass mold using wax and PVA mold release. Once that's done, cutting, sanding, adding additional reinforcement, and provision for the lock and pins...detail work.
From high level point of view, does this sound like it has a chance of working?
So, I wanted to outline my "plan" and get the feedback from the more experienced (read everyone else out there) composite gurus.
In terms of making a "mold", my plan is to use some thin plastic (an old "for rent" sign) cut to size and shape, and use it to cover the baggage door opening using packing tape, etc. I may use a couple of aluminum stiffeners taped to the back of the plastic to add strength and stiffness. The goal here is to provide a backing for making the mold from fiberglass that will be used for laying up the carbon fiber off the plane.
I figure that I'll lay up 3 plies of glass on the plastic backing, let it cure, remove it from the fuselage, sand, smooth, and seal with neat resin. Then after all that, I'll layup two plies of carbon fiber on the fiberglass mold using wax and PVA mold release. Once that's done, cutting, sanding, adding additional reinforcement, and provision for the lock and pins...detail work.
From high level point of view, does this sound like it has a chance of working?