Chapter 13/18 - Nose and Canopy - Part 3

The following photos do not quite describe the amount of work that I have done to the Long-EZ over the last couple off weeks. I will try here to sum up what has been happening with the project.

After shaping the nose, canard cover and canopy frame, I glassed the canopy, a task that again took way longer than the plans call for, and removed it for interior glassing. Pictured here is the inside of the canopy after initial shaping of the foam. The voids along the left and right side will be filled with many fl ox and bid layers to create hard points for the hinge and canopy latch attachment. Unfortunately I did not take a photo of the canopy fully glassed before I removed it for interior shaping. I will post an update as soon as the interior is glassed.

Here is the nose and canard cover glassed. The nose has only been glassed on the top two thirds. The remainder of the nose will be glassed after I glass in the elevator fairings, remove the canard and flip the fuselage over.

Here are a couple close ups of the elevator fairings. All of the different components appear to fit together pretty roughly, however I am confident that a little micro and patience will make this all look really nice.

Chapter 13/18 - Nose and Canopy - Part 2

Throught the last week I have been working on the nose and canopy frame.

Just this last weekend my brother came down from Seattle and helped begin the shaping of the nose. We also began work on the canopy frame and canard cover.

Here is the floor of the nose. If you look closely you can see the 2" foam block I have used to place the forward bulkhead a little further forward. I later bonded 4 2" foam blocks to the forward face of this bulkhead. This gave me a nose shape that is about 4" longer than stock. Not enought to place a battery forward for added weight and balance options but it does help give a nice smooth nose shape.

Here is another view of the nose with the sides installed and glassed. More clearly visible is the 2" (blue) block of foam between the sl30s and the forward bulkhead.

Another view

Here is the final shape of the nose....

...before my brother had his way with it. You can also see how I have began to shape the canopy frame and canard cover all at the same time to ensure a nice smooth transition.

Here are some more views, still a little work to do but a good start.