Lower wing on the trailer

It isn't clear yet how the lower wing mount will work.  There isn't room for foam padding.  I'm still mulling how this will work.  It may help to add pad eyes rather than looping Velcro all the way around the wing and trailer.

To-do's before the first flight are now:

1. figure out how all of the Goat parts transport together -- lower wing, horizontal tail
2. take all of Goat for its first trip around the neighborhood 
3. finish weld the upper rail to the vertical supports -- need Argon
4. finish weld the frame joints -- need Argon
5. do a very thorough pre-flight check
6. do a weight & balance
7. get radios -- need 1x airborne, 1x in car

Deferred until after the first-flight:

• leather patch on wing tips where they rub the ground
• leather patch guides for elevator control lines
• trim color paint
• wing root kiss seal
• main strut fairings
• jury strut fairings
  
• emergency parachute
  
• drogue chute
• variometer

 

Skid Plate Upgrade

Expecting that the first flight will be from an old paved runway, the aluminum skid plate will take a beating.  It has already showed some scrapes from moving around the garage and driveway.  So, on another rainy weekend day, it was time for an upgrade.

I had some leftover 1/8in Delrin from the trailer.  A quick trip to the bandsaw, I had a couple strips 3/4in wide to match the metal skid plate.  Transferring the 1in hole spacing into them, and drilling out nine rivets with a #30 drill bit, they were easy to Cleco into place.  A few Cherry pull rivets and it's all done.  It looks reasonable.  Quick projects are nice.

To-do's before the first flight are now:

1. figure out how all of the Goat parts transport together
   
2. take all of Goat for its first trip around the neighborhood 
3. finish weld the upper rail to the vertical supports -- need Argon
4. finish weld the frame joints -- need Argon
5. do a very thorough pre-flight check
6. do a weight & balance
7. get radios -- need 1x airborne, 1x in car

Deferred until after the first-flight:

• leather patch on wing tips where they rub the ground
• leather patch guides for elevator control lines
• trim color paint
• wing root kiss seal
• main strut fairings
• jury strut fairings
  
• emergency parachute
  
• drogue chute
• variometer

Deck painted

The rain gave way to sunshine (and humidity), so I finished the first coat of paint on the trailer deck.  It's very grey.  I like it!

The guide tubes for the tow release line have been bonded onto the nose tube. I made a simple tee for a pull handle.

To-do's before the first flight are now:

1. figure out how all of Goat parts transport together
   
2. take all of Goat for its first trip around the neighborhood 
3. finish weld the upper rail to the vertical supports -- need Argon
4. finish weld the frame joints -- need Argon
5. UV paint on the plywood decking -- partial first coat, second coat is needed
6. glue tow release line tubes to nose tube
7. do a very thorough pre-flight check
8. do a weight & balance
9. get radios -- need 1x airborne, 1x in car

Deferred until after the first-flight:

• leather patch to wing tips where will rub the ground
• leather patch guides for elevator control lines
• trim color paint
• wing root kiss seal
• main strut fairings
• jury strut fairings
  
• emergency parachute
  
• drogue chute
• variometer

Releaseable at both ends

The tow rope now has release mechanisms at either end, so the pilot can release, or the truck can release in an emergency.  

I'm not totally sold on the way the weak link routes, but I'm sure this will survive first flight.  I'm also sure that the first several flights will tweak things.  If any hang glider pilots out there have strong opinions about this photo, please leave a comment.

The topside paint from Total Boat arrived and I got a small section of the trailer deck painted.  Surface prep with a 120-grit sandpaper and a thorough cleaning with isopropyl alcohol seemed reasonable.  The first coat went down smoothly. The paint itself smells like kerosene.  It is going to make a huge difference in visual finish to add the consistent color.  It will also protect the plywood much better than my hit & miss epoxy job.

The list is getting mighty short now.  This weekend is rainy, so the back yard is a soggy mess.  The preflight, weight and balance, and trailer finishing work will all wait until next weekend at earliest.  We'll see.

To-do's before the first flight are now:

1. figure out how all of Goat parts transport together
   
2. take all of Goat for its first trip around the neighborhood 
3. finish weld the upper rail to the vertical supports -- need Argon
4. finish weld the frame joints -- need Argon
5. UV paint on the plywood decking -- partial first coat, second coat is needed
6. sort out plane-side weak link and release
7. glue and tape tow release line tubes to nose tube
8. do a very thorough pre-flight check
9. do a weight & balance
10. get radios -- need 1x airborne, 1x in car

Deferred until after the first-flight:

• leather patch to wing tips where will rub the ground
• leather patch guides for elevator control lines
• trim color paint
• wing root kiss seal
• main strut fairings
• jury strut fairings
  
• emergency parachute
  
• drogue chute
• variometer

Better with a fid

With a splicing fid, a better splice you can make.

The eye splice looks so much better than a knot.  This end of the tow rope is now done.  I will simply take the splicing fid on the first flight to put the eye splice in the other end, lest I unravel 1000ft of rope and can't get it back on the spool as cleanly!  If the weak link turns out to be too strong, tying a single loop in each end (rather than having a loop double) will halve the force.

To-do's before the first flight are now:

• figure out how all of Goat parts transport together
  
• take all of Goat for its first trip around the neighborhood 
• finish weld the upper rail to the vertical supports -- need Argon
• finish weld the frame joints -- need Argon
• UV paint on the plywood decking -- paint arrived
• put eye splices in tow rope ends
• sort out plane-side weak link and release
• do a very thorough pre-flight check
• do a weight & balance
• get radios -- need 1x airborne, 1x in car

Deferred until after the first-flight:

• leather patch to wing tips where will rub the ground
• leather patch guides for elevator control lines
• trim color paint
• wing root kiss seal
• main strut fairings
• jury strut fairings
  
• emergency parachute
  
• drogue chute
• variometer