9 hours straight today sanding and filling. UGH> I swear the DA sander is a life saver for these birds. I really like using Z-grip as a base filler, then going back with Micro for spot filling. The 2 tone colors make it really ez to find those pesky areas that need perfecting. I will then be able to go back and use Z-grip again if larger areas need filling. Up till this point I've been really crazy about smooth even contouring no matter how much filler is needed but today I had to make a hard decision on that. The speed brake is above the skin line and requires filler to fair it into the belly. However, this means a raised portion. Now I "could" add enough filler to make it smooth along the entire underside, but thinking about it, that would do nothing for drag reduction, add weight, and possibly chip off in the thick spots all for the sake of evening out the belly. Not worth it. I accepted the thickness of filler that is present and blocked it to the surrounding area. I'm also really happy with the way the upper gear farings turned out. They should work great. being only 2 plies, they "May" need another ply around the opening, but for now they will do until i see cracks develop, if they ever do. The sump airfoils also turned out pretty good as they are only needing minimal filler as well. Tomorrow I will be blocking down the micro and running a few more rounds of filler. I wouldn't be surprized if I'm slurry coating by monday afternoon :) Jack Wilhelmson better hurry up with that nose gear harness that I messed up! lol. I need to flush that gear door thingy :). No gear door hinges for me....JOE!
