Hey,
We are still here.
Most of the time we are working with all resources centered in our composite workshop - very little time remains for the Aero.
Right now, we reamed the tailplanes attach fittings and have new bolts manufactured.
Then we will assemble them one last time before painting.
Till then!
20 januar 2013
06 december 2012
Christmas is close!
Christmas is close as the gifts seem to be already arriving.
First a sharp eye found a decaying shed on an airfield. In that shed there were some parts for the Aero. It is great for us to have a set of spare fuel tanks and we will pick up some parts from the canopy and it's frame also. Thanks Jože!
Then, (more related to the fiscal year-end) the post man delivered a box full of the best hand tools in the world. Check out: http://www.uniortools.com/
And to top it off, we received the tensile test results for the manufacture of new bolts. We now got the correct material. The experts at the Institute of metal constructions in Ljubljana suggested that we also run a britelness test at low temperatures, which we think is a good idea. Then the bolts will be produced.
Also check out the January 2013 issue of the Aeroplane magazine. The Aero is a rockstar!
Isn't december wonderful?
Enjoy it!
First a sharp eye found a decaying shed on an airfield. In that shed there were some parts for the Aero. It is great for us to have a set of spare fuel tanks and we will pick up some parts from the canopy and it's frame also. Thanks Jože!
Then, (more related to the fiscal year-end) the post man delivered a box full of the best hand tools in the world. Check out: http://www.uniortools.com/
And to top it off, we received the tensile test results for the manufacture of new bolts. We now got the correct material. The experts at the Institute of metal constructions in Ljubljana suggested that we also run a britelness test at low temperatures, which we think is a good idea. Then the bolts will be produced.
Also check out the January 2013 issue of the Aeroplane magazine. The Aero is a rockstar!
Isn't december wonderful?
Enjoy it!
23 november 2012
Fancy new web-site
Nothing much to report.
We are swamped with work and no time or more importantly energy is left for the Aero-3 project. The only thing is that the paint supplies are all in the process of being delivered to the shop.
But we have a posh new web-site up and running. You might want to take a look at it:
We are swamped with work and no time or more importantly energy is left for the Aero-3 project. The only thing is that the paint supplies are all in the process of being delivered to the shop.
But we have a posh new web-site up and running. You might want to take a look at it:
08 november 2012
Fabric on the center section
At long last - here is the rest of the story on the centersection.
We left off, when the centersection was preped for fabric if you remember.
Then the first bigger top pieces go on.
Top side fully covered, except the edges.
Bottom side next.
One big piece of fabric!
Now trimmed down.
As with anything, the details take most of the time. Like this trailing edge going into the split flap area.
Or this.
I kinda like the end result.
I just realised that this is probably the most boring post ever. Sorry about that.
So next up, three things will happen.
First we are getting all the duck in a row for painting (paint, painter, paintshop).
This will probably take some time and in this time we will:
- fit the tailplane surfaces and fairings together
- fit the canopy to the fuselage and windscreen.
I want to get these out of the way before painting. Nothing is more frustrating then finding out that a mayor component does not fit after it has already been painted.
Luckily the above process does not require a concentrated effort like the centersection, as we are once again backed up with other work. Luckily.
Have fun!
We left off, when the centersection was preped for fabric if you remember.
First pieces of fabric to go on are the areas that will have edges overlaped latter.
Top side fully covered, except the edges.
Bottom side next.
Now trimmed down.
Or this.
I kinda like the end result.
Other view.
So next up, three things will happen.
First we are getting all the duck in a row for painting (paint, painter, paintshop).
This will probably take some time and in this time we will:
- fit the tailplane surfaces and fairings together
- fit the canopy to the fuselage and windscreen.
I want to get these out of the way before painting. Nothing is more frustrating then finding out that a mayor component does not fit after it has already been painted.
Luckily the above process does not require a concentrated effort like the centersection, as we are once again backed up with other work. Luckily.
Have fun!
02 november 2012
The airplane - a different look
Among the things on our to-do list was a photoshoot of the Aero-3 in our workshop. Nina Novak is a young and very talented photographer and here are some of her pictures presenting a bit of a different look at the aircraft.
Enjoy the images.
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| Workshop |
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| Aircraft |
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| Shapes |
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| Classic |
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| Janez |
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| Saso |
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| Structure |
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| Process |
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| Detail |
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| Detail |
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| Detail |
If you like the images, Nina can be contacted for comission work on: ninanovak204<@>gmail.com Of course remove the <> in the e-mail address.
28 oktober 2012
Centersection fabric - preparation
Good morning from a snowy(!) Slovenia,
During the past week I managed to get in some concentrated effort on the centersection. By working way afterhours for four days I am very happy to report that the center section is now fabric covered.
Proof:
So, to show you the process, I will probably post two blog entries. This one is about the preparation work involved before laying the fabric. Often overlooked and definitly not much talked about, the prep work is the basis of a masterclass fabric work.
First, we had some details to finish off. Like this big circular wood piece, you see in the center of the image. A fuel tee with a drain valve sits on it. It looks benign, but required some forethought.
One of the challanges involved was blindly locating the three nutplates through the skin of the center section. A trick often used in sheet metal was used:
Then we finally had the piece ready for fabric. One of the most important aspects in composite construction is the minimum bend radius. Depending on the specific weight of the fabric, there is always a certain radius that the fabric can follow. If the radius is smaller then this, you have problem in laying up the composite.
The same thing is actually true for fabric covering aircraft. Most of the prep work involved in preparing the piece for fabric is sanding it, to get off all the grime, dirt and oils, to enable the glue to set up a stronger chemical bond to the wood AND establishing a minimum bend radius on all the edges that the fabric will wrap around. This is actually a massive amount of work.
Most of the time these bend radiuses are made by sanding off the sharp edges, but sometimes filler is needed.
No manual (that I am aware off) really states the minumum bend radius for fabric, but I estimate it to be about 2-3 mm for the normal grade aircraft fabric (cca 100g/sq.m). So the filler is then sanded accordingly.
Again, this is very simple, but requires a good amount of work (about 10 hours for the centersection) and is a step that will not only make laying up the fabric much easier, but also the quality improves drastically.
Do a good job on the fabric and you safeguard the structure (if you happen to remember to put drain holes in it!)
Next post is about actually doing the fabric. Before I sign off, I would like to put some faces to the names.
When in the blog I say ''we'' did something, that most probably means that one of the guys in the picture below did something.
Remember that Janez is a partner in aereform and does all the wood. Igor is a hilarious kid that is excellent with the spray gun and quite good with the wrenches. While reading through the blog the other day he said, that: ''you know those are my blisters that you are posting to the internet!''. So, yes, it is about time to put some faces and names to our company and into worldwide fame and fortune.
Will post the rest of the fabric process in about a week. Go and build a snowman or something.
During the past week I managed to get in some concentrated effort on the centersection. By working way afterhours for four days I am very happy to report that the center section is now fabric covered.
Proof:
 |
| This image shows the state of the work on Thursday evening. Friday was spent doing the details. |
First, we had some details to finish off. Like this big circular wood piece, you see in the center of the image. A fuel tee with a drain valve sits on it. It looks benign, but required some forethought.
 |
| The laminated wood block in the center with the through hole. |
 |
| The other holes you see are drain holes. |
The same thing is actually true for fabric covering aircraft. Most of the prep work involved in preparing the piece for fabric is sanding it, to get off all the grime, dirt and oils, to enable the glue to set up a stronger chemical bond to the wood AND establishing a minimum bend radius on all the edges that the fabric will wrap around. This is actually a massive amount of work.
Most of the time these bend radiuses are made by sanding off the sharp edges, but sometimes filler is needed.
 |
| Like here. |
Do a good job on the fabric and you safeguard the structure (if you happen to remember to put drain holes in it!)
Next post is about actually doing the fabric. Before I sign off, I would like to put some faces to the names.
When in the blog I say ''we'' did something, that most probably means that one of the guys in the picture below did something.
 |
| On the left is Janez C., right is Igor M. |
Will post the rest of the fabric process in about a week. Go and build a snowman or something.
02 oktober 2012
Windshield
Good morning from a rainy Slovenia!
Our shop is backed up with the usual autumn peak orders so there is not really a huge amount of free time to work on the Aero.
No time yet for the fabric covering of the centersection, altough some details were finalised on it. Fabric however takes a few days of concentrated effort that must be done in a stretch.
Anyway, we did (almost) finish a nice piece - the windshield.
In previous posts you can see that the metal part was in primer and interior gray was sprayed on the inside. Now it was time to fit the transparencies.
First a SolidEdge draft was made and printed out in 1:1 scale. Then this sheet of paper was cut and and test fitted to frame to check for accuracy. Then the files were sent out to the plexiglass shop for cutting.
After the plexiglass was delivered it was fitted to the frame. Slow and careful work is in order here.
This is the finished piece. Notice the system for cleaning the windshield on the bottom of the windscreen. This hooks up to the fuel system and sprays fuel on the glass.
The two remaining items are the leather seal, for which we are still waiting the material and the other is the handgrip for the student pilot when entering the aircraft. This is the original one.
To make it look like it just came out from the shop, we would have to replace the leather, and the bushing on the metal part. However then it occured to me that I really do not want this part replaced or restored. Every pilot that whenever flew this aircraft gripped this handle. So I really do not want to replace this. A bit of cleaning some touchups and now we have a legacy centerpiece in a most prominent place in the aircraft. Sometime one should not do everything one can.
See you!
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