DG 500 build thread

Well the Jart project is complete and waiting for our next slope visit , so its time to carry on with the monster DG 500 Elan, the December break will allow the building of the wings .

Some lovely extruded polysterene foam arrived today and I just had to mock up an 8mtr wing.

Visuallising the final product is an important motivator .The wing will have two 3mtr inner panels and the glider can be flown as such.(in stronger wind and lift) Then there will be 1mtr wing extension outer panels for a full 8mtr span. (lighter conditions and thermalling)

The tape measure is at the 4mtr mark, time to set up my new feather cutter built for me by Peter who hopefully is busy with his Go Big glider.

I have now shifted focus to some of the smaller components like the joiner tubes ,which will be built into the wings. The joiner tubes are constructed around the actual joiner (in this case a hefty carbon blade).

The joiner was covered in plastic tape and thoroughly waxed.

Next I wrapped the left and right halves with 163 gr cloth about two layers thick, to hold it in place(dry) some masking tape was applied.

The cloth was wet out with epoxy and then a wrap of 60k carbon tows were tightly wound around and left to cure.

Once everything was cured I slit one side and removed the boxes, no easy task with the 60k carbon which is rather stiff, I carefully cut the slit with a fine dremal cutting disc(gently).

The boxes were placed back onto the joiner blade and then a bead of Sika-dur epoxy used to close up the cut, before it cured completely the boxes were slid free.

The sharp edges are sanded smooth , watch out for the carbon it produces sharp splinters(wear gloves). The boxes now get a carbon sock pulled over them and wetted out.

The final joiner box will be bonded into the wing and forms part of the shear web , they came out nice and light and strong.

Another box is made up of plywood ,over the center of the joiner, this will also be covered in 2x layers of carbon sock. This will go into the fuselage and act as a compession strut between the fuselage sides.

Lastly while the epoxy was drying I resprayed the canopy which had to be water papered down after the second coat of black went all crackle finish, last attempt. It now has my quality stamp of approval.

Two attempts to bag a stabilizer were just c..p and ended up in the bin, the finish was hopeless and the weight 100 grams to much , I will start afresh on the stabilizer next weekend. Sometimes when things just dont go right its better to drink beer.

Cheers for now.