The Rotisserie

This job would fall into the category of pain in the back without the benefit of the rotisserie. The $1,000 dollars I paid for this rig is worth every penny. We can work without bending over 90% of the time. It can be raised high enough to turn the whole plane upside down if desired. I can easily work on the interior while standing right on the ground.

Primer fill'n

Here's Pop (top) spraying our first coat of acrylic primer. We are using Dupont high build primer for a base coat. This product is wonderful! It fills those pesty pinholes and closes small scratches with ease. After drying I am hitting this with 120 grit paper for an ultra smooth finish. Technology is wonderful. Just a few years ago, filling pinholes and scratches meant lots of superfil or an additional thin coat of expoy. We just spray it on. Most of this is sanded off when finished. This will be followed by two coats of Dupont primer, 320 paper and finished with a coat of Imron.

Lots of spare parts

With all the rain we had this April, I'm glad there are lots of extra parts available for working indoors. I have utilized all areas of the house for painting, drying and just decorating with aircraft parts. Here are shots of the rear tunnel and seat pan in their final speckle paint finish.

It's just a floorboard

A nice feature of working with fiberglass is that many of the parts can be prepared and painted before being installed. Here is a shot of the floor board in primer and then finished with splatter paint. The splatter or trunk paint is economic, very durable and has good curb appear. It is finished with one or more coats of clear so cleaning is easy.

A bit of micro

So far I have been very impressed with the finish on the Lancair parts. One sour spot shows up here on the wheel pants. The joints are well bonded but the seams are very rough and there are a ton of pinholes in these pieces. I also found air pockets left over from the mold process. Needless to say there is a lot of micro filling and sanding to be done here. When I was at the factory I picked up a pair of carbon fiber covers which close the mains. They were in much better shape than the glass ones that came with the kit.

The Spring that wouldn't

The outdoor building season has had yet another setback for us folks down east. Our lowly 302 feet of altitude here in the Philadelphia area yielded 5" of rain this past Sunday and an icing of snow cover for tax day. An infamous nor-easter attacked areas from Maine to Maryland this past weekend. Needless to say there was less progress in my backyard abode this weekend. The good news - No grass to mow!

A little sandpaper

A big part of any composite project involves some sanding, usually followed by more sanding. Different types of fiberglass surfaces require different grades of sandpaper and varied amounts of elbow grease. The interior presents a bit of a challenge as there are many corners and crevices to contend with. Today I am preparing the interior for primer which must be completed prior to adding additional components to the cabin area. The interior will be primed with polyurethane primer and painted with speckle paint or what is better known as trunk paint. More on that later.

The eagle has landed

The much anticipated arrival of n661gl from Redmond is now history. Tony Partain Transport arrived today with the Legacy well packed into his 40ft racing trailer. His driver Seth was a pleasure to work with and gave us lots of tips on how to unload without breaking things. With a crew of 8 we lifted, turned and twisted the fuselage to free it from the hold of the trailer. I bought a rotisserie from Lancair which helped greatly with the transport and setup in my back yard. I could not have shipped it enclosed without it. One of the best moments was seeing these 8 guys walking up the street carrying an airplane. What a kick! I am very happy to have this puppy home. A wonderful Easter present!