Let there be White

Well the 3 weeks of working on the plane was a big leap in progress. I feel quite happy about what I managed to get done in that time. I have read so much about the paint vs polish debate I was unsure about where I was heading decision wise. I think what really changed my mind was one day I was working in the shed in the late afternoon on the elevator assy and the light was shining on it. It was not a polished piece or anything but the reflection off the sun was almost blinding. I had read some forum somewhere about a Sonex owner deciding to paint his plane after being sick of being blinded by the reflection from the wings. So the decision was made. I think however that I still may have polished it if I was running the standard Aerovee , however, since I have decided to add the turbo to the engine, I don't mind sacrificing a little payload with some paint.








Soooooo the next big question was what to use and what colour scheme to go with. Not being much of an original thinker I was looking all over the net and found one that just jumped out at me from the moment I saw it. I saw the plane in an article from the 'Contact' magazine and it's quite a tragic tale, but I won't go into it here.. I hope the owner of this plane doesn't mind me plagiarizing his colour scheme.

Realizing painting the plane would be a heck of a lot easier before the motor was fitted, I have started on the job. It's been a few years since handling a spray gun, but it seems to be going on quite well. The elevator and tail tips were the first to be painted. I had to go back to the paint shop to add a little more red tint as at first it was a little too orange for my liking. After the extra tint was added it came out spot on.

 

The main fuselage was next. The base coat of white is finished now, however, I don't have a photo. It did come out quite well. Time will tell if I have done a good job. I have sprayed it in automotive 2 pack paint hence all the protective clothing and breathing apparatus including goggles.

It just wouldn't be cricket I guess, if I didn't just throw some random photo in from the last three weeks. I had a great little fly out to a place called Morawa in W.A. There is a local gliding club out there and I managed to get talking to the local CFI and the topic of the VW came up. So I had to see how his baffling and cooling ducts were arranged in the hope that I could solve the ongoing issue of overheating in my Aerovee. He has given me a few ideas and I hope to try them next week when I get home. 



Until next time .......... Stay Cool. :)