Wing Tip to Wing Install for BH 4 Place original Kit #26

[David Weber]

I have kit 26 and bought the original wingtips offered at that time. I think I got my kit in 2004, so the wingtip would be that vintage. Had my retina detach, and after two surgeries and some healing, I can now see well enough with one eye to proceed onward and finish the kit. I will probably go down in the history of the Bearhawk as the slowest kit builder!

When fitting the wingtip to the wing, after checking it, the area between the mounting screws does not lie flush and is wavy. I am wondering if anyone has solved this issue.

I remember some builders were going to try AL spacer or cork. I believe others were going to try to beef up the attachment area of the wingtip with fiberglass. Did anyone try using Kydex as a spacer? Am I trying too hard to make it look perfect a fighting a losing battle?

Thanks, David in Waller, Tx

[jaredyates]

I messed around with this for a while and then realized it really didn't matter to me. I never noticed it once the plane was flying.

[Mark Goldberg]

Hey David. I agree with what Jared just advised you. Some builders are concerned more than others about appearance issues like this. It is possible to lay up a little fiberglass strip on the inside edge of the wingtip that attaches to the wing. Stiffens it up a bit. You can also space in a few more screws or rivets in the area which sticks up. You will never notice it after you are flying. Mark

[alaskabearhawk]

Had the same fitment issues but I'm just ignoring it. Time to keep the eye on the prize and get flying!

https://bearhawkforums.com/forum/bearhawk-4-place-quickbuild/56209-wingtip-fit

What they look like:

http://www.mykitlog.com/users/display_log.php?user=yeeeha&project=527&category=3973&log=286911&row=3

[svyolo]

Or, go the opposite way. With a little risk. Remove some material with thin V slots, starting with the areas of the tips that have the most excess material. Maybe insert every third screw, and see where the excess is. Sort of like using fluting plyers on aluminum.

[Paul Johnston]

The wavy business ; I just don’t notice it- they’re right

[David Weber]

Thanks for the input. Wavy it is! Rock Onward.

[Bcone1381]

I fixed 90% of the wave. You guys might think I'm OCD....but when I was born OCD and dyslexia didn't exist so I'm not. hahah!!!!

The tip needs to be pushed inboard a fixed distance when you start installing it so when you pin it down you have the ability to let the trailing edge creep outboard and when you are at the last point of pinning, the raw cord-wise edge of your tip is on your target line....parallel to the rib. The edge creeps the most where the curvature is the greatest. I bet I pushed min tip 6 inches inboard, but that was maybe 18 months ago...

If I recall, I installed the tip by drilling holes and clecoing it down one at at time 18 inch intervals starting with the leading edge so there was no wave the span-wise raw edge of the wingtip. Then I let the trailing edge of the tip creep outboard without adjustment to avoid forming a wave. Then I measured the creep distance in mm. If I pinned it down 6 places, I had 6 creep measurements. I kept going on and on doing this every foot or so. Time consuming. No one told me that waves were acceptable. I had to fill holes that were not right that I used to pin down the CF tip using Flocked Cotton mixed with Epoxy . I thought no waves in the tips was the standard to work for and my tips might have been a freckish one time manufacturing flaw. But i just do what I do to make things work, and enjoy the task at hand. I have no time goal I'm trying to achieve. I'm having fun and I don't know what I will do with myself when this thing gets done.

If you have not educated and tooled up yourself yet on Epoxy, go for it now. I use Spruce and my supplier, AeroPoxy is my product, use a small scale to weigh out part A and B. West System Pumps resulted in a lot of waste for me and wasted epoxy is expensive and I'm not OCD but frugal, so I'll have more money for gas when I'm done and I want that for you. Get yourself some Micro Balloons and Flocked Cotton along with your epoxy and scale and mixing cups and wood tongue depressors. If you want a good book get the one written by Rutan in about 1980. (Moldless Composite Construction) That book is awesome. this stuff is not hard to learn on your own. But you dont need a book just to fill 3/32 cleco holes.

[rodsmith]

It's been a large time investment but it was so nice to slip the Hoerner wing tips I made over the end of the wing and have a nice tight fit. I don't understand why the supplier can't size the tip to do the same for quick build wings, not like they vary in size, and they have been making them for 20 years! I was hoping this was just a problem with the original 4 place wing tips but apparently also with the patrol.

[Utah-Jay]

Slightly on topic question here…. What are you guys doing to mount the lights on the wingtips? How are you going about creating the flat space for the light to mount?

[TimTall]

I'm working on making the flat spot for the tip lights right now. Fiberglass wing tips came with my kit. No idea where they are from. QB #111 so i think that's about 2007 vintage. I'm going to use a little bit of micro balloon slurry to build up the flat spot (only need about 3/16" of an inch of build up on each side of center). Once it sets up I'll sand it to the shape i want and cover it with a couple layers of light weight cloth. I sanded back the gel coat so the cloth won't sit proud of the finished surface. I've got very little experience with fiberglass - in fact the only thing I've ever done is the strut fairings I made from scratch. Trial and error and Mike Patey videos have taught me the little bit that I know.

My tips fit pretty well but there was going to be quite a bit of waviness between screws. I eliminated it by using a lot of screws.

[alaskabearhawk]

http://www.mykitlog.com/users/display_log.php?user=yeeeha&project=527&category=3973&log=279562&row=36

There is part 1 and 2 as well.

[N942VT]

I've done something similar using plywood, nicely done.

[TimTall]

Here's the outcome with paint... turned out pretty good with not too much sanding.