Elite tail fairing

[Ralph Baker]

First, decide how and where you are going to fasten the fairing to the rudder/fuselage/stabilizer. (We will use Rivnuts.) Drill and cleco the halves in place with best approximation of the mating edge to be glassed. Remove the fairing and cover the rudder/fuselage with wax paper so you don't glue the fairing to the plane. Reinstall the fairing halves. I made two strips of .020 aluminum about 1 1/2 inches wide and drilled/clecoed the halves together. The strips go across the seam like two bandaids to hold the approximation.

Now, put two layers of glass from the top (rudder end) to near the first aluminum strip and then between the strips and
finally from the bottom aluminum strip to the fairing front. Do not glue the aluminum strips to the fairing or the fairing to the rudder/fuselage. Allow 24 hours at least to cure.

Now carefully remove the fairing and do two layers of glass inside avoiding the aluminum strips. Support as nearly as possible in the final shape. Allow at least 24 hours to cure.

Reinstall on the plane with wax paper as before. Remove the aluminum strips and sand smooth in the vicinity of the strips so that those areas can now be glassed on the exterior. Cure again for 4 hours.

Remove fairing and sand and glass the interior areas where the strips were. Cure 24 hours.

Now you can file and sand both interior and exterior as smooth as you care to. The interior is only important at the places it will contact the airplane when installed. Be sure not to sand so vigorously as to compromise strength. Cleco holes and any pits or surface imperfections are filled with SuperFil and sanded smooth after curing.

Final steps are to install the fasteners, trim the edges, trim fit the rear of the fairing around the stabilizer, and final fill and sand any imperfections.

The fairing is easily removable at any stage. We barely cleared our ELT antenna but the Force was with us.

I was told about a trick to get good saturation of cloth with minimal mess. It really helps! Get a piece of plastic sheet of perhaps 6 mils that is more than twice as big as the glass cloth. Lay it flat on your bench. If required, part of it can hang over. Place your piece of cloth on the plastic. It must be completely flat on the bench. Now mix the resin and hardener. Brush a thin coat of catalyzed resin on the cloth with a roller or brush thinly but throughly saturating it. Now fold the plastic over so it covers the cloth and then some. Put on your rubber gloves. Now with a roller or your hands squeeze excess resin out of the cloth. Now take the "sandwich" to the work area, open the plastic and pick up a properly saturated cloth piece and lay it on. There will be little resin to run where it is not wanted and plenty in the cloth. The gloves and plastic are discarded after use and no clean up at all if you used a disposable brush to spread the resin.
Ralph Baker































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