The construction of the wing has begun. Today, the first lamellae of the spars were glued into the mould.
The preparation took several months. First, the moulds had to be CNC-machined from solid beech wood and fixed to a wooden plate. Then came the choice of the right adhesive. Initially, we planned to use an epoxy resin adhesive for the spar. However, after extensive testing and numerous adhesive samples, we had to abandon this idea. Although Aerodux is more demanding to apply, it delivers proven better results. Therefore, we decided to go with this adhesive.
The purchase of the wood was made possible by a very generous donation from a supporter. The delivered lamellae made of flawless Sitka spruce were individually planed to size, cut to length, aligned with the grain, and, of course, only handled with gloves.
With a team of six skilled aircraft builders, including my wife, we started the first gluing today. Due to the narrow time window for processing Aerodux, only a small number of lamellae can be glued at once, so we need to work in stages. The decision to start with six lamellae proved to be conservative, so this number can be increased in the following rounds.
Thanks to Brünu's expert use of the glue applicator roller, the adhesive application was perfect and completed in no time. The lamellae were pressed into the mould using 44 clamps. To ensure the required and even pressure, they were tightened with a previously calculated torque.
Further glueing action to follow....
