This page is designed to answers questions that come into Quikkit on a fairly regular basis. I feel that I must reiterate and emphasize a couple of VERY important things.

First, You MUST read the plans before trying to build your Glass Goose projects. If you read the chapter pertaining to the particular task at hand, and then wait several weeks or months before actually beginning the work, REREAD the chapter again just before starting to do the work. Not just looking at the pictures or by just skimming the text, but by really studying EVERY word, drawing, and picture. There are simply too many small details that are very important to assume you remember everything. Even with all my years of experience with this plane, I still review the plans when working on any particular area.

Second, Please follow the plans and build the Glass Goose just the way it is called for in the plans. Many problems can be avoided by "sticking to the plans". It performs very well just that way. There are ways to engineer things, but changing the structure of an aircraft without a demonstrated need either in terms of engineering analysis, or failure of a system is not the way. Building it "stronger" doesn't necessarily equate to better. The Glass Goose is a proven design!

Do not hesitate to call if you find a discrepancy in the plans or a mistake in the parts called for. Those calls I appreciate and they have contributed to the additional accuracy of the plans for future builders.

Blue Skies & Tail Winds,
Tom

1) Do all pre molded parts have peel ply?
NEVER assume there is no peel ply unless you have verified that fact yourself. We DO NOT apply peel ply to the OUTSIDE of most of the molded parts. These would include such parts as the wing skins., the forward lower and upper fuselage, pylons, aft fuselage halves, vertical fin halves and engine cowling as examples. I can also tell you that all of those same parts DO have peel ply on the INSIDE and that all of the bulkhead materials we supply as pre molded have peel ply on BOTH sides!

2) How can I identify if a part has peel ply on it?
If the surface of the part you are bonding ANYTHING to has thin black lines 1 inch apart on the surface that is peel ply and MUST be removed. BUT, that is not to say that ALL peel ply has the 1" apart black lines. The surface does not have to be rough, it does not have to have any air bubbles showing. It can be glassy smooth and shiny and have NO air bubbles in the surface and STILL have peel ply on the surface. The way to tell is to pick at the edge of the part and TRY to separate ANYTHING that is on top of the fiberglass. If you do this first to a part that has the 1" thin lines, you will KNOW that you are dealing with a surface that HAS peel ply and you will gain a visual feel for what peel ply looks like as it starts to separate from the actual glass while you are picking at the edge and beginning to pull the peel ply away from the glass. Then when you test a part without the lines, you will have a better idea of what to look for. It becomes pretty evident pretty quick if the part is not covered on the side you are testing.

3) Opps. I forgot to remove the peel ply before bonding the parts together. It looks strong. At this point it would be a lot of extra work to remove. Can I leave it alone?
If you have assembled ANY part of your project without removing the peel ply, you ABSOLUTELY MUST REMOVE THE WORK and reinstall. A lay-up over peel ply has absolutely NO STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY WHATSOEVER!

4) For the fuel vents, can I use Nylo tubing or should I stick with the aluminum tubing?
The fuel vent lines should be aluminum.  Take them out the highest point of the outboard rib and route the vent line out to the end of the wing. It will exit at the leading edge just inboard of the wing tip in the center of the leading edge.  I like to leave about a 1/4" sticking out
from the surface of the leading edge and make it look nice.

5) Do you user the same epoxy for coating the inside of the fuel tanks as for layups?
No, Jeffco 9700 is used for this purpose. Follow the instructions in the plans for applying it and use as little of the Jeffco as possible. It is heavy.

6) Would it be a good idea to keep the shop cooler while I am closing out the wings and bring the heat up only after all my weights are placed on top for squezeout? I was thinking this might give me more working time, or would it be insignificant or even hinder me when I'm spreading it?
Yes, it is best to keep the shop temp on the cool side but I wouldn't go below about 70 degrees.  If you do, the Dexter Hysol 9430 will be way too thick to work. It is VERY  thhhhhick and hard to stir as explained in the instructions. You really need the extra helpers and you need to have it all planned out. See the notes on closing out the wings posted in the Glass Goose Gazette area for more information as well as your plans.

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