EAA SportAir Workshops (Fiberglass for RV Builders)

January 2019

I was really lucky that EAA happened to be putting on their Fiberglass for RV Builders SportAir workshop in Las Vegas on a weekend that I just happened to be in town.  Fortunately the shop wasn't full and I was able to get some much needed instruction on how to approach the fiberglass work needed mainly in the empennage and also for the canopy.

The instructor was outstanding and had a lot of experience with fiberglass that he was willing to share with us over the two day course.  I can't say enough good things about these EAA courses.  If you think you may need the info, then attend the class.  It's well worth the cost.

We worked on several projects during the weekend, including using a form to create a fairing, fiberglass damage repair and the instructor's personal technique on blending from the canopy to the aluminum in the upper forward fuselage.


We took a 1/4" drill bit and drilled through these to demonstrate breakage.  We were then charged with fixing them.

We created these fairings from scratch using a waxed form supplied by the instructor.  It was tough to get perfectly smooth to make it look good after priming.

 

 These forms were used as the base for the aluminum to canopy transition.

Here was the final product after the instructor's unique technique for the transition.  It seems much simpler than the way that's called for in the plans and just as strong.  I think I'll give it a try when the finishing kit arrives in August '19.