Fiberglass test parts
I tried laying up some test parts on the plug last night before bed. When I got home from work today, I was able to pop them off the plug and take a look. They came out really well! There are a couple flaws that will be easy to correct on the actual parts, but it worked better than I expected.
I covered the plug with mylar packing tape and then waxed with some mold release wax. I used some 4" fiberglass tape that I had around and put down two pieces on each side. The part release from the plug easily and didn't do any damage to the plug.
The areas with two layers of tape are stiff enough to work on the plane. When I make the actual parts, I'll use some S glass I have and probably do three layers to be safe. There were a couple voids where I laid a tape over the edge of the other tape. This will be easy to avoid on the next round. There were also a couple minor defects from the mylar tape not laying down (a bubble and a couple wrinkles).
I'm encouraged that it was this easy. I was intending to pull a mold off the plug, but after seeing the result, I'll just make the parts directly on the plug. I'll do a check for fit on the fuselage and then make the new parts.
It was hard to take a picture that really showed the result very well. Here is the best of the bunch. The actual parts will be trimmed down to about an inch for each flange.
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