Behold; The world's okay-est windshield fairing

[Desert Rat]

Man I'm glad this is done. But I'm also happy to say that it turned out really well.

Thanks again to everybody who took the time to offer opinions on dimensions etc. and especially Larry Larson for his excellent kit planes articles.

(also, after a couple of decades, R.I.P. to my shop vac. fiberglass dust finally killed it).

 

[Doug Rohrer]

Save the Hose

Save the hose off that trashed shop vac and add it onto the hose on the new one you will buy. I really like a long hose on a vac. I also cut off the power cord and put on a new female plug. Makes a handy extension cord when the one on your power tool will not quite reach, which is most of the time.

 

[thiggins]

Very nice.

 

[Desert Rat]

Save the hose off that trashed shop vac and add it onto the hose on the new one you will buy. I really like a long hose on a vac. I also cut off the power cord and put on a new female plug. Makes a handy extension cord when the one on your power tool will not quite reach, which is most of the time.

Great idea, but you can see the box for the new shop vac in the same picture. Different size hose.

 

[wirejock]

Trim

Okay-est? Shoot. That's nice work. Congratulations.

I'm a hoarder. I will scavange any part off stuff before trashing. The wheels, electrical cord, hoses.
Then I spend a couple days every few years throwing it all out and wondering if there's a pill for my sickness!
I just spent two days throwing stuff out.

 

[andoman]

Great Work!

Okay-est? Shoot. That's nice work. Congratulations.

Amen!
Most workmanship I see on RV's is above average. So anything that doesn't stand out like a sore thumb or a "work in progress" (like my empennage fairing...) is way better than "OK."
Well done!!!

 

[PaulvS]

That looks really good Terry, well done! The canopy and the fairing is a LOT of work, like a project in its own right.

What's next?

 

[KatanaPilot]

Very nice work.

Thread drift - get a Goretex Cleanstream filter for your shop vac. HEPA rated and easily cleaned, will last for years.

 

[Desert Rat]

That looks really good Terry, well done! The canopy and the fairing is a LOT of work, like a project in its own right.

What's next?

Thanks Paul- The list of what's practical do do in my garage is getting pretty short. I'm sure I can find a few odds and ends to keep busy for a bit, but it's just about time to sweat getting the fuselage to my hangar to join everything else.

 

[Desert Rat]

Very nice work.

Thread drift - get a Goretex Cleanstream filter for your shop vac. HEPA rated and easily cleaned, will last for years.

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into it. I have no complaints with the old one. It lasted about 20 years including quite a bit of sheet rock and fiberglass dust.

It started making a death rattle at shutdown a month or so ago, but I was trying to milk it through this fairing project. Almost made it; The motor seized with just a couple of days to go.

 

[hgerhardt]

I did exactly the same thing 20 years ago with my -6. Having the windshield fairing as a separate part is easier to do and does a better job; IMHO of course. Another thing I did after the fairing was done was use 3/16" tooling wax on the underside of the fairing to simulate the plexi thickness and then made a 1-ply laminate to hold automotive dash material (low-gloss black vinyl), which the panel edge trim holds in place.