Vortilons

Wing Vortilons

Vortilon construction is detailed in the Roncz Canard plans since they are a mandatory addition to the wings if flying the Roncz Canard.  There was a well-known Cozy accident that resulted from a main wing stall due in large measure to the pilot/builder removing the Vortilons before a test flight.  Clearly these little guys are critical to safety of flight when incorporating a Roncz Canard into the configuration.

Now, as far as classification . . . although these are specified & mandated in the Roncz canard plans (canard = Chapter 10), they clearly go on the main wings (wings = Chapter 19).  So I’m adding them here as noteworthy item, albeit I’ll leave this page “chapter-less.”

18 October 2015 Since I had a little bit of pure epoxy left over from glassing the left canard swoosh tip, I grabbed the BID scrap box and a piece of plastic to make a 4-ply BID sheet, of which I would cut out a Vortilon or two.  I laid the 4 plies of BID into a pre-preg setup and poured all the epoxy into the layup.  After heating up the pre-preg with the heat gun it flowed well enough to wet out all the epoxy.  I then put another plate on top of it and weighed it down with my heavy tool bag (pic below).

Vortilon 4-BID layupWeighing down Vortilon 4-BID layup

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19 October 2015 — Since I had used some leftover epoxy yesterday to make a set of Vortilons, today I wrote it into the work plan to finish the set for both wings.  Here’s the 4-ply BID layup for two more sets of Vortilons.

#2 vortilon layup 6"x 8" 4-ply BID

And here are the initial two that I cut from the glass I laid up yesterday.  These are the largest of the 3 sets of Vortilons.

BL 80.0 Vortilons cut

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Recent Posts

Project Update

Hi Folks,

I’m slowly backing my way out of the rabbit hole on my front seat throttle and mixture cables and LEFT sidewall component installs, with all the left front sidewall components, electronic gadgets & wiring either installed and/or accounted for.  In addition, the painting of the left front armrest is complete. 

I now plan on commencing to work my way back, via the GIB throttle install, to the engine install and compartment tasks.

Again, this multi-week detour I just made leaves pretty much just the panel forward to install & wire up as well as some nose components final install/configuration (nearly all done already).  Beyond that, we’re talking a week to tweak/finish the canard, and then final micro finish and paint. 

That of course is after I focus on my true strategic target: the exhaust pipes… still relatively just around the corner.  I have some surgery to do on the exhaust pipes, and wanted some of the low hanging fruit involving the engine off the plate before I dig in on the exhaust pipes.  After the exhaust pipes I’ll work full bore on the cowlings and the strake-wing intersections.

I’m still intent to focus solely on the plane for the next however long it takes to finish this bird… ASAP!  

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  3. Chapter 16/22/24 – Cabin Antics Leave a reply
  4. Chapter 16/22/25 – Oil, Heat & Paint! Leave a reply
  5. Chapter 16/22/25 – Left armrest painted Leave a reply
  6. Chapter 16/22 – Storage cover installed Leave a reply
  7. Chapter 16/23 – New friction lock Leave a reply
  8. Chapter 16/23 – Friction Lock Pocket Leave a reply
  9. Chapter 16/23 – More armrest tasks Leave a reply