REFLECTOR: Top door strake dents

Jim Sower reflector@tvbf.org
Thu, 30 Oct 2003 22:16:49 -0600


Would honeycomb in the critical area, as well as extra plies or
carbon fiber make it a lot less subject to dents?  Denser foam?
Anything besides lots of flox?
Still looking for a good solution .... Jim S.

DOHAYES@aol.com wrote:

>  I remember talking about this years ago, before completing my
> strakes. The focus then was how to make the top skin stronger,
> rather than how to keep the foam underneath from compressing,
> which now seems to have been revealed as the actual problem.
> If we had recognized this back then, it would have been a
> relatively simple matter to remove the inner skin and foam
> next to the door, and treat the area exactly as is done where
> the strakes attach to the spar. Routing out the foam in the
> problem area, as has been suggested, seems like the only
> solution at this point that will pretty much eliminate the
> possibility of dents. I suppose if I did that now, I could
> remove the dents I already have as well, except that my
> painter put them on both sides.. I'm also considering some
> kind of paint design that isn't so glossy in the problem area,
> so as to make the dents less obvious. I'm not sure I want to
> use the wing walk material though, even though I was seriously
> considering that at first, because it seems like I do a lot of
> intentional sliding, especially when getting out. What to do,
> what to do? Doug HayesBoulder, CO

--
Jim Sower
Crossville, TN; Chapter 5
Long-EZ N83RT, Velocity N4095T