Thermoformed tailwheel pant

[n3480h1]

Since the Sonerai is experimental, I managed to form a tailwheel pant in two halves by vacuum forming one of the engineering plastics. Its not a difficult process, but details are important. The finished pant will measure 4" wide x 10" long. Not a big fan of such things, but since I already had the material and the high tech equipment (ok it was done in my kitchen oven and drawn with a vacuum cleaner and a home made plywood box), it seemed like a simple project for a very cold day. After painting, the pant and its hardware should weigh less than 3 ounces. Because it is essentially a monocoque form, it is extremely strong.

Tom

 

[Raceair]

Tom, Looks Cool…Is it ABS?….I have 23 year old ABS main wheel pants on my Skylite. They have finally started to embrittle, and I have had to start patching them with Epoxy glue and Fiberglass cloth…Ed

 

[n3480h1]

Thanks Ed. Not ABS, but similar. It requires a very specific temperature and soak time. This material is just slightly softer than ABS in its makeup, but still very stiff when formed, about like 2 plies of 6 0z. glass, but lighter weight. It is not UV resistant, so it'll get scuff sanded and a couple light coats of silver before final paint, though it will not see a lot of direct sunlight.

Part of my interest in this was because of my Skylite. Having gotten away with this project, I will form a pair for the Skylite mains, with a vertical split. Might even replace the heavy fiberglass wheelpants that came with my Sonerai project, though I would select .090 material for those, since the Sonerai should fly a bit faster than my Skylight. Fun projects, and the very low material and tooling costs appeal to my Scotch ancestry.

Tom