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

Hey Sports Fans,

The electrical system and instrument panel install is still virtually complete.  My Trio autopilot is back in the panel with its screen repaired, and my Garmin GNS-480 GPS Navigator and Bendix-King AV8OR handheld GPS are both repaired and on their way back to me.

May and June were crazy busy with a lot of social events and some tasks I needed to get done around the house and with vehicles (including replacing my motorcycle tires).  But I’m jumping back onto the build full bore now.

I still need to finalize the weight and balance on the ailerons before their final installation onto the wings.  That should be done this week.

Also on the upcoming to-do list is the final canopy install… and getting the rudder/brake pedals configured and installed, along with the brake lines, master cylinders and reservoirs plumbed. 

Yep… still rocking on!

  1. Chapter 22 – Autopilot is back! Leave a reply
  2. Chapter 19/21 – More ailerons & fuel… Leave a reply
  3. Chapter 19/21 – Gimme ailerons & fuel! Leave a reply
  4. Chapter 11 – Always sumpin’! Leave a reply
  5. Chapter 11 – Elevators installed Leave a reply
  6. Chapter 19 – Aileron Weight & Balance Leave a reply
  7. Chapter 11 – Elevator Weight & Balance Leave a reply
  8. Chapter 20/22 – Rudders installed Leave a reply
  9. Chapter 22 – Electrical 99% done Leave a reply