that looks top notch!  Good job!

The Turtle deck...

Clearly I have some turtle deck inspiration to follow..

Getting the right wing ready to cover.



But I'm running out of room in my shop. with the left wing on one side...


And the fuselage on the other...


Doesn't leave much room up the middle

I'm just about done varnishing the right wing .

...

Finished varnishing the right wing. Sanded out the drips and runs and applied the first coat of glue.

Applied the second coat of glue and started the covering process.

Laying out the fabric and aligning it for trimming.


Glue the leading edge first


Then glue the trailing edge


Then the ends


And then shrink once the glue dries.

Ashot from inside the trailing edge.

Finishing up.

that covering looks top notch! I hope I can get mine looking that smooth.

Thank you. You will. Covering is not hard and you will enjoy it.

Pitot Tube mount idea. It will clamp around the forward wing strut and the pitot line will slip on the tube sticking out the back. I need to make some refinements but the basic design is good to go.

Quoted from ITman496

that covering looks top notch! I hope I can get mine looking that smooth.

agreed. it looks great. something to aspire to.

Quoted from RedBird

agreed. it looks great. something to aspire to.

Thanks again.

I covered the aileron today, and that is the last piece to be covered. I am completely done with covering my minimax and that's quite a milestone for me since it's been 22 years in the making. Now its on to paint, which is my least favorite stage of any project.

My plane, being 30 years old, currently having its covering taken off, must be like 'WHY? I WAS SO CLOSE...'

LOL. I feel your pain. Im replacing all the nuts, bolts, and washers as I go. They were brand new unused AN hardware when I built the airplane 22 years ago but they are starting to corrode and rust after being in storage for so many years. Nuts and bolts are cheap, so there is no reason not to replace them. It just pains me because they were new when installed and the airplane has never been flown. So yeah, I get it, its just a shame to waste all that fabric since it has never flown, but it is in your best interest in the end.

Better to waste some fabric then to trash the whole airplane and the idiot flying it!

3D printed pitot tube mount.

looks great! I am gonna do a similar thing with my airspeed sensor.  Thank god for 3d printers!  Are you using ABS or PLA?

I used PLA but I'm not sure how its going to hold up to UV. Then again, since it is mounted under the wing, if the sun is shining on it I have bigger worries than weather or not my pitot tube mount is UV resistant.

Whenever I print with resin, which is extremely sensitive to UV, I will spray it with a uv resistant spray on clear coat paint.  That has protected them thus far from sunlight.  Easy to do as well, and doesn't change the color!

The printed clamp is very nice. I made a similar clamp for the pitot tube from a piece of a thick cutting board. Two small (maybe #8?) machine screws went through both halves and a I used two Adel clamps to secure the tube.

Lynn

That's a good idea ITman496. But they do make UV resistant filament. Its kinda pricey but worth it. Its just a trial run though. If it works out well with trailering i'll reprint it useing the proper filament.

Thankyou lake-harley, It was your design or one similar that inspired my design. I think #8s are plenty big enough. I used 8-32s for the clamp and the set screw (could probably get away with 6-32s). Like the Hummel Ultracruiser manual says, "Gotta think light, don't use a 1/4-20 when an 8-32 will do, or a 3/16" rivet were an 1/8" one will do." Doesn't sound like much, but could save a few pounds altogether in the end.

Quoted from toliver66

Like the Hummel Ultracruiser manual says, "Gotta think light, don't use a 1/4-20 when an 8-32 will do, or a 3/16" rivet were an 1/8" one will do." Doesn't sound like much, but could save a few pounds altogether in the end.

Amen, brother! Grams become ounces, ounces become pounds, and pretty soon you have a plump airplane. Will a 5# difference be felt in performance...likely no, but why build in excess of what's needed. I once heard a engineer or someone say that anyone can build a bridge that will support a given load, but it's an engineer's job to do it with a minimal amount of material. That's a rough paraphrase, but you get the idea.

Build on.....

Lynn

I definitely understand that.  Alas, I've failed completely, as my rudder/brake pedals weigh probably twice what they need to.  Luckily, the wonder of experimental home built aircraft is that I am free to fix that myself next winter. =)

Quoted from ITman496

my rudder/brake pedals weigh probably twice what they need to.  

Yeah, sweet a design as they may be, the first thing that went through my mind when I saw them was "Man, that looks heavy". Maybe even overkill for an ultralight, but you have to remember we don't have quite the finesse with our feet as we do our hands, so I can't say maybe a little overkill isn't necessary. Id rather have a little overkill than a broken rudder pedal any day.

My main design criteria with most things that get 'touched' or 'used' by humans is to design them to be strong enough that you can't accidentally rip them off in a panic.  Would be deeply unfortunate if I had to panic slam the brakes in my car and the pedal broke off because it could only handle normal forces, not adrenaline forces.  So I designed it to handle adrenaline forces.  In retrospect..  probably not necessary.  I'll be making a lighter revision in 2021  

Yes, exactly what I was trying to say. Try them as they are, you may need the "panic slam" strength.

First coat of paint