Wing to fuselage aluminum fairings

How do I make the wing/fuselage aluminum fairings fit properly? They need to be slightly formed to follow the curvature of the wing. Do I have to metal stretch the vertical side of them or is there a simpler way?

hcccs said:

How do I make the wing/fuselage aluminum fairings fit properly? They need to be slightly formed to follow the curvature of the wing. Do I have to metal stretch the vertical side of them or is there a simpler way?

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If you want to create compound curved panel then yes, you have to stretch or shrink. But that could be just a few passes along the edge on an English wheel if you know somebody who has one. Or a few gentle taps with a body hammer on top of a crowned autobody dolly along the edge you want stretched. Avoid the shrinker stretchers as they leave serations.

Trim strip

Scott, it may not be a solution for you, but I made strips that fit the fuse so close there would be no need for rubber. About .032" cleareance on top and of course the bottom overlaps to occlude high pressure air. If this may aesthetically fit your preference, I can send you picks and discuss the simple process. The primary ingredient is PATIENCE not effort.

I think the original poster wants a compound curved fairing like the fibreglass ones, not the flat type like you have on the RV8. So they go from being flat on the wing to bending 90 deg up to be vertically flat on the fuselage. Of course if the wing is curved then the fairing has to follow it.

see my thread called Canopy Installation Question in this section. I think he wants a fairing sort of like that.

Hans,
The aluminum fairings provided in the standard kit which cover the aft 2/3rds of the upper surface will contour to the wing curvature if you do the drill - up starting at the front and pulling the fairing down as you move aft. It will cause the fairing to be very tight against the fuselage, and will always be slightly "loaded" when screwed in place. The fiberglass front section will overlap the aluminum piece and help hold the shape. Kind of hard to explain,but mine fit very well and did not require any forming before drill up.

If you have waviness it is because you stretched only the very edge. If you were to make a paper version of the fairing and cut slits in the upper flange and tape it in place to have a good fit, you would see that the slits open gradually where the wing curves. That tells you the stretch has to be gradual from 0 on the bottom out to the max amount at the edge. If you only put all your stretch in the edge, which is all those machines can do, you will get lasagna noodles. So blending the stretch will get rid of the waviness.

I had this problem and used a hammer to gently stretch the flat areas of the fairing as necessary. Didn't take long and they shaped OK.