8 pages long, plus 2 for updates.
This is mostly where the project picks up for me. While this chapter up through step 5 was mostly completed before I bought the project, it was done poorly and not according to plans.
Deficiencies
While the inner surface was coated in fiberglass, the outer surface was shaped with micro, not foam. The right process is to shape the foam, apply a thin layer of micro to bond the fiberglass to the foam, apply the fiberglass, then use more micro for cosmetic and airflow reasons. One remedy might be to simply sand down any imperfections and glass over the whole thing.
The FS-1 fiberglass layers are delaminating from the foam core.
Both NG-30 plates are misaligned with the axes of the airplane.
Nose gear layups (step 2) are not finished.
Modifications
Skid Plate
In the event of a dual electrical failure, it will not be possible to extend the nose gear because:
- The nose gear is electrically actuated.
- There is no crank to manually lower and lock the nose gear.
- Overcoming the wind force would require a gas spring to be extremely strong.
However, there is a way to manually extend the main gear. Upon landing, the mains will protect the engine and propeller, but there is nothing to protect the nose while the nose gear is still retracted.
A common Long-EZ modification [citation-needed] is to mount a skid plate to FS-1 and forward to keep a nose-gear-up landing on a hard surface from grinding away a big chunk of fiberglass and foam. The plate could be either 2024 aluminum or 4130 steel and may need to be replaced when used, depending on condition. In the interest of saving weight, N34ER will use an 8″x6″x1/4″ piece of 2024-T3 aluminum.