Fuselage prep

Last night i started working on getting the fuselage ready for fabric.  A long time ago, we sanded all the stringers and longerons and stuff but there was still some paint and fabric on the wing roots and rudder area.  So I got to work sanding.  The wing roots went pretty easy with no real problems.  The rudder on the other hand was a pain.  The rudder is skinned with fiberglass and just painted over that.  Sanding all that paint off was a slow process.  At 10:30 I had the left half finished and called it a night.  Leah and I did move the wings back into the garage so we can prep them this week for EkoFill.  I was hoping to get all the sanding done on the fuse before moving the wings back in but oh well.  We'll get some plastic sheets to cover them up best as possible.  They'll have to be cleaned before EkoFill anyway.

We have a little warm weather this week so I'm going to try to do wood sealant on the fuselage outer areas and varnish where I cut out the shelf.  We'll hit the wings with some super fine sandpaper to clean up some glue residue and go over them with the iron to clean up any remaining wrinkles or bubbles.  Then they'll be ready for the first brush coats of EkoFill when weather allows. 

The new Bungee Cord's are here!  I've got an article in there detailing progress made on the Cherokee.  The article marks progress made up through mid February.  I've done a lot since then!  I really enjoyed the magazine, lots of good articles and nice pictures.  Both Harry and Neal had reports, Harry about the VSA Rally in Wichita last Fall and Neal describing Vintage glider performances last summer in the Kansas Kowbell Klassic straight distance contest.  I flew the Cherokee 80ish miles while he put something like 156 miles on his Ka6.  I believe that flight was good for second place, beating an LS-3 and Nimbus.  That flight also won Neal the annual Wooden Wings award given to the longest distance flight in Kansas to a wood wing sailplane.