Apr 3 2004 - I started on the intersection fairings. Here the edges have been defined with electrical tape and the modeling clay has been laid in the joint.

I smoothed the joint with a spoon until I got a good shape everywhere. This still needs a little more work.

Three layers of 8.8 oz bi-directional cloth have been applied after spraying the area with molde release. I sure hope this comes off!

No problem! A metal rule and air pressure popped it free with little effort. I then trimmed the fairing to size. Here it is just resting in place - I need to start on the finish work now and will install nutplates to hold it later. I opted for splitting the trailing edge and I'll probably add a lip on the pant that smoothly blends in.

Apr 4 2004 - I glassed up the three remaining fairings and trimmed them to rough shape. Here is the upper RH side before popping loose. An air gun directed at the joint is all it took to pop the glass loose from the fuselage and leg fairing.

After just a few minutes of trimming the fairing is looking pretty good. It'll take a little time to micro-balloon fill and get it looking perfect, especially at the trailing edge. I have not decided how to handle the wing root seal where the red line dips below the fairing. I'll either trim the fairing, or let the seal ride up over the top of the fairing - to be decided when the wings are mated again.

I left the bottom plenty long in order to pick up the two outer screws that hold the access plate on the bottom. These are just #6 AN526C screws. I'm not going to try and use flush head screws here since the material is so thin.

Apr 6 2004 - The inlet duct needed to be slit to properly align with the cowl inlet. Here the slit has been made and the front height determined and drilled.

I filled the gap with an epoxy/cotton flox mix. On the outside and inside are a layer of glass cloth. With the glass shaped, I firmly attached the air box aligned with the cowl inlet and then glued the foam block into the cowl inlet.

I then sanded the foam with a half round file in contact with the inlet ramp and the air box fiberglass and aluminum top. I then sanded toward the aft end about .040 so that after laying up the glass inside here it will match the air box.

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