The wiring is in, the inspection hatch is in, the plumbing for the pitot is in, the remote compass is in, and the inside of the wing is fully sealed with epoxy varnish. I hope I haven't forgotten anything because today with the essential help of my friend Paul (the fastest stapler in the west) the top skin was glued onto the left wing. It simply isn't possible to apply the glue fast enough with just one person before it starts to gel in the pot. The glue was the usual mix of West system epoxy with the 206 slow hardener and a 6% addition of microfibres. This was spread over the ribs, spars, and leading and trailing edges of the wing structure and then onto the wing skin completely filling the gaps left in the varnish by the masking. Actually the latter statement is not exactly correct. Applying the Randolph EV-400 epoxy varnish thinned to soak into the wood also resulted in it soaking straight through the masking tape and varnishing the protected areas almost as though the tape wasn't there! Still I enjoyed the hour spent sanding it off where it shouldn't have been in the first place. Note for next time use a plastic tape.The glue can now set overnight before I remove the clamps but even with them and the nailing strips in place the aerofoil already looks superb. It is no wonder the Tailwind is so fast with such an elegant thin section wing.
