SonexBuilders.net

Greetings,

I'm curious how everyone is bending all those little fairings. I'm assuming they're pretty common for all the models, but mine is a Onex if that matters. I'm talking about the fairings for the rudder cable, tailwheel spring, ailerons, etc. They seem to be supplied as flat sheets, and mostly require pretty tight bends. If I try to bend them by hand, it's going to get ugly :-) Honestly, I'm thinking of 3D printing them.

Thanks,
Rusty

Hi Rusty,

I cut out the pattern, bent the flanges, clamped a (skinny) broom stick down the center, and bent them around the broom stick. After that I beat on the tips a little with a dead blow to get a better fit. Then I bent them some by hand to get the width I wanted. I bought the rudder cable fairings.



Good Luck,

Wes

I annealed mine. Makes it a lot easier to work the metal.


viewtopic.php?f=39&t=578&start=1020



viewtopic.php?f=39&t=578&start=1030

The B-model versions of those little fairings are just pre-formed plastic pieces, so if you don't want to make them you could probably just buy those from Sonex

Annealing is probably a good idea. I might just buy the aluminum that way to save having to heat it.

Wes, where did you buy the rudder cable fairings? I bought some plastic ones, but they're not quite the right size. I drew them up in CAD and have them ready to 3D print, but haven't had time to print them yet. 3D printing is slow, and really annoying to listen to

The empennage fairing is the only one I consider essential for first flight, so I may or may not get the rest done before it flies. it's always good to leave yourself room for improvement :-)

Rusty

I got my rudder cable fairings from Aircraft Spruce.

I got the plastic ones at Spruce, but they're not quite the size I need. The others I saw weren't close to being large enough. The original owner of my project cut the slot a bit longer than needed one one side, and a bit off center on the other side. I'm guessing the cable exits didn't align with the factory marked location, but that's just a guess.

I installed the “B” model plastic fairings from the inside. Came out pretty good. I think will look fine once I cover in vinyl.

Hi Rusty,

Spaceman wrote:Wes, where did you buy the rudder cable fairings? I bought some plastic ones, but they're not quite the right size. I drew them up in CAD and have them ready to 3D print, but haven't had time to print them yet. 3D printing is slow, and really annoying to listen to

https://www.sonexaircraft.com/eshop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=17554&category_id=431
https://www.sonexaircraft.com/eshop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=17558&category_id=431





Good Luck,

Wes

Thanks for the replies, and links. I searched the Sonex store for fairings, but neglected to notice that there were 3 pages of them, so I never saw any of those. I'll do some more searching.

Rusty