Hi Brad
Some of the other guys have made god points about getting the wings straight and I
will back that up by saying you just want to do a careful job of leveling one end of
the wing relative to the other. We used a jig that sits on the main & rear spars so
it spans them and make sure both ends of the wing show the same on the level. You
don't need to kill yourself getting the table level, just make sure the jig the
wings sit on (2, 2x4s on side are OK) holds the wing true and you can clamp the wing
to it so it does not move & lose the correct alignhment. You can shim the 2x4s if
you need to tweak the setup. For our table we did however build leveling screws
into the legs so we can account for the un-eveness of the floor.
On the wet tanks, don't let all this talk psych you out, sure it can be messy but it
isn't rocket science and it isn't really that messy with a bit of care. Just lay
newspapers and be careful what you walk in! It is however a two person job and
don't wait until the afternoon to get started. A box of nitrile gloves are your
best friend and don't be mean with the sealer, if you have to buy an extra can it is
really not that costly compared to the risk of a leak and it really doesn't weigh
that much if you use a little more than planned.
While we are on the sealer, I don't think MAM supplies it with the kit any more
because it goes out of date before you get to the tanks so you have the option to
buy the curing time formulation that suits you the best, for us it is the 2 hour
version, that is plenty. Make sure you get a batch with lots of shelf life left (9
months from manufacture) and have at it. We get ours (Flamemaster brand, to the
same MIL-SPEC) from Aviall who have outlets all over North America and keep stock in
Texas.
We mix batches of about 200 grams and use a caulking tube dispenser to apply it.
The empty tubes are about $1.25CDN each (catalog # 103FL, C. R. Laurence,
crlaurence.com) and are the type that household caulking comes in. Makes the job
really slick, no messy, stringy putty knives to handle & clean. Puts a nice bead in
the corners too. After the job, toss your clecos in a jar of acetone and wire brush
them later when you have time and use them for the next tank
Another tip, to Scotchbrite the mating surfaces, get one of those discs which fit in
a drill and has velcro hooks on it and stick a disc of purple Scotchbrite to it,
this beats the devil out of doing it by hand. Works well if you have a drill press.
There are plenty of guys who have already done this so there are lots of good posts
in the archive on the subject (search Proseal) too, so that is a good place to read
up before you start
Well, I guess I have gone on long enough about this, like the guys have said, if you
are building because you enjoy it and you have more time than money, go for the slow
build and have at it, you will have that great feeling of satisfaction when you say
you did it all yourself!
Cheers,
Dave R
Francine D.
elite583.cjb.net (almost ready to seal the second wing.......)
Nielsenbe@aol.com wrote:
Thanks for all the replies, There are two main factors that sort of scare me
into getting the fastbuild. I don't know if I can get the wings straight
enough to have a quality product and sealing the tanks. While I asking about the
wings......... what do you guys think of the landing light and wing tip strobe
options? I am going to get the 120 gal option but $1000 is no small chunk for
an option. I am not what I would consider in the money to burn catagory.
Thanks, Brad
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