After the production of the plugs and molds I just described for the top sides of the flaperons, there remained the molding of the bottom sides of the flaperons! This seemed like it was going to be a much less challenging task since the bottom is perfectly flat with few complications. Suffice it to say that this did not prove to be true. I am going to spare you the details, but I made the molds from 22 gauge stainless steel. This eliminated all the sanding and finishing that would have been required by conventional methods, but I had a very difficult time getting a company with sophisticated metal fabrication equipment (brake) to bend some very delicate bends for me.

Once fabricated, these SS molds were adhered to substantial bases and reinforced. Then they were treated with mold release just as any other mold and proof parts were pulled.

As of this writing, we are waiting on a supply of carbon fiber to start the regular and continuous production of these flaperons. They are going to reduce the build time and eliminate one of the biggest chores in building the Glass Goose. They will be a strengthening factor in our program and just one more reason a person can be proud to own a Glass Goose. 

MAIN GEAR FAIRINGS(sometime in May)
I am presently making the molds for the fairings which form the enclosures for the main gear tires and which flow over the lower wing to the leading edge where the fairing projects ahead of the wing and provides an enclosure for landing gear lights. This fairing is designed to provide as much lift as possible from that area while still fairing in the wheels. It is also esthetic and doesn’t leave the plane with an unfinished look. These fairings will probably be molded in carbon fiber. Bonding flanges will be molded into the area that bonds onto the top of the wing and the entire fairing from

PRE-MOLDED MAIN GEAR FAIRING(middle of June) 
One of the most inconsistent shapes on the Glass Goose and Seahawks has always been the fairing which fairs the main gear tires into the lower wing. This has always been a difficult shape to sculpt and for the inexperienced a real challenge to say the least. I doubt that it is a job that anyone would volunteer for unnecessarily. A lot of folks have spent months just on this one thing.

I have received a lot of compliments on my fairings and they are identical as far as the eye can see. It took a LOT of hours and a lot of work to get them that way. I have been wanting to mold these difficult parts for a long time, but other priorities kept that from happening. Also, I kept trying to figure out just HOW to mold them? As a whole, they are a part that has what is called negative draft. That is to say that if you were to lay up a part in a mold of this nature, you wouldn’t be able to get the part out of the mold! Kind of like laying up glass inside a bottle. After the epoxy cured, you couldn’t get the fiberglass out without breaking the bottle. SO, that presented a challenge. I decided that the solution was to mold the fairing in 2 halves. I have done one fairing (the right) so far and it looks very good. The resulting 2 molds when bolted together form the complete fairing. I do not know at this time whether I will bolt the halves together and lay