By
Tony Burton
I didn't want to do a bunch of taping to hold removal fairings when I built my RS-15. I built a fibreglass fairing in place. It made a pretty fairing that was a snap to tape.
1. With tail fixed, temporarily fill the space with stiff foam and
carve/sand to a nice 3D shape. (The foam is lightly glued to the boom
just enough so it won't move.) It doesn't have to be perfect.
2. Remove tail surfaces, and cover foam with a couple of layers of light glass.
Cover the boom with something so the glass won't stick to it. It's not clear
in the photo, but this fairing is continuous across the top - it's in one
piece not two.
3. When cured, remove the foam/glass, chew away the foam
then add a couple more layers of glass on the inside.
4. Epoxy the glass permanently to the boom.
5. Spread on a coat of any filler, prime,
& paint.
You see in the photo the curved rectangular space above the
taper pins which you have to close with an access panel. I had it slide
into a slot on the front of the tail cone and then screwed down with two
bolts that went into captured nuts on tabs attached to the top-rear of the
fairing. The hole above the front spar plate gives access to the front spar
attach bolt, of course, when the tail is rotated up.
As long as you have a folding tail mechanism that works for you, this tail fairing (or
something similar that you may make) pays for itself many times over, in
time, hassle, and tape.