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,

The electrical system and instrument panel install is virtually complete.  That being said, I have 3 components currently out for repair: the Garmin GNS-480, Trio autopilot, and Bendix-King AV8OR handheld GPS. 

I recently finished the final installation of the rudders, and just finished the install of the elevators onto the canard.  Next up is the final weight and balance of the ailerons before their final installation onto the wings.

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. 

Rocking on!

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