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SS1 Surface Finishing and Details
This project deserves to have first-class attention to the finishing details. The entire effect will be second rate if the surface finish, the paint, and the markings don't fit with the original. So the pressure is on to do this right. This page will be dedicated to the techniques used to get the airframe prepped for paint, how the paint details are done, etc.
Surface Prep
A common mistake is to just start sanding the surface of your epoxied surface to remove the pattern of the fabric. This smooths the surface but also compromises the strength of the fiberglass layers — negating the very reason you applied fiberglass in the first place.
For smoothing epoxy/cloth surfaces, I make my own slurry of epoxy and microballoons. If it is mixed correctly it sands almost as easily as spackle but is stronger and less brittle. Just lightly sand the surface first, wipe with ethyl alcohol, then spread on the slurry with a spreader. This is then sanded smooth and repeated until you get the desired surface. It is fairly easy to recognize when you begin to sand into the top of the fabric. Several applications are typically required. (I have used Bondo® for surface prep, but my composite advisor tells me that it should not be used on top of epoxy — only on poly resins. Bondo® itself is a mix of polyester resin, microballoons, and clay.)
This photo of the surface was taken after the first coat was sanded and the second coat was applied.
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This mixture also works for fillets and for edges where the glass layers came together unevenly.
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Here is one way to to assist the curing of your epoxy...!
A cold, rainy weather front moved in after I applied my surface coat to the top of the airfoils. The epoxy had cured but the surface was still tacky due to the lowered temperatures. I rarely use the furnace in my Arizona home, so I stoked up the fireplace and stood the SS1 on front of it, adding a little surface heat to aid in the curing. If you do this, pay close attention to make sure you don't let your project get too hot.
The surface prep on the underside of the wings is finished in this photo — filling aand sanding prior to primer application are complete. You can see some 'stripes' where I evened out some minor surface depressions.
This is the stage of building a rocket that I like the least. I admit it. Weeks of boring work, filling and sanding, and there isn't much progress to look at. What's more, a lot of surface imperfections show up with the application of the first coat of primer, and I never look forward to seeing how lousy my prep work turned out to be.
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Primer and Paint
Field of Stars
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One of the most distinctive features of the SpaceShipOne is the paint on the belly of the fuselage. It is a spray of white stars against a field of midnight blue that fades to a spray of midnight blue stars against a field of white. I don't know who envisioned this paint but I have to give this person a lot of credit. It was quite a task to duplicate, even in my head.
To start I masked off the entire nose with Grafix Frisket Film. Then I traced the stars along the border where the field of blue dissolves into a collision of white stars. Once the star shapes were drawn on the frisket I cut the border and removed the areas to be painted blue. (There are no pictures of this operation, because the frisket film is clear.)
I then cut more frisket into star shapes in a variety of sizes and arranged these inside the blue area. I sprayed a coat of clear enamel to seal the edges, then several coats of navy blue. After I removed the mask I had the result shown in the photo to the left. (There are some rain drops on the rocket because it started to sprinkle while I fetched the camera.)
My brain started to hurt from trying to calculate the placement of blue stars on a white background and how many stars I would have to cut in the frisket, so I decided to punt.
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Instead of cutting dozens of star stencils, arragne them on the airframe, then paint them, I figured it would be easier and better looking if I cut stars out of monocote and arranged them on the white background. Smart move.
I even had some navy monocote left over from a previous project, and the match to the paint was perfect.
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The stars along the transition have now been added and the effect is pretty close to the original. It won't look too bad when the rocket is on the pad, 500 feet from the flight line.
The photos below show the addition of the multiple porthole windows arrayed along the forward section of the fuselage. I actually applied these prior to aranging the blue stars along the border because I didn't want to waste any by covering them up with a window.
The windows are cut from black monocote. I used a Fiskars Circle Cutter, which worked beautifully.
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Decals and Markings
I bought 11"x17" laser-printable decal paper at www.DecalPaper.com. All the logos and markings were designed in PowerPoint and printed from a color lazer printer.
To maintain our commitment to realism we will need to apply the aircraft registration numbers. Burt Rutan and his team was able to secure the N-number with the suffix 328KF, which they sought because their goal was to exceed 328,000 feet. Our modest craft will likely only fly to approximately 328 yards. (Well, okay, maybe more like 400 yards. But you get the idea....)
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These nifty decals are positioned just forward of the left and right horizontal stabilizers. They indicate the pitch of the elevons.
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We have made several attempts to contact Scaled Composites to get the permission to use their logo and registered marks. We did not request that they act as a sponsor in any way (although we certainly wouldn't refuse the offer!). Since we don't feel comfortable using the Scaled logo without permission, we created a comparable facsimile to use instead.
In case you weren't aware, we have had prior run-ins with intellectual property attorneys who threatened us with legal action for making a flying replica of their corporate trademark. You can hardly blame us for being careful....
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This is the art work we created for the Scaled logo decal
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The replacement if we're refused permission to use their logo
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I want to be perfectly clear about this, though — RTV has a reputation for being snarky, but that is not our intention here. This parody is only an attempt to avoid confusion about corporate sponsorship (and to blend in some humor at the same time) — it is not an attempt to poke anyone in the eye. We would prefer to use the actual logos in order to create a reproduction that is closer to the real thing, and I hope we get permission before it is time to make the decals.
Update!
As of 10 February 2008 I still have not heard from anyone at Scaled Composites, so I will assume they are not interested. So the decision is to put the Scaled logo on the vertical stabilizers but to put the Squalid logo on the Sponsor panel.
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Sponsor Recognition
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Our most important piece of business is to give the proper advertising to the companies that have lined up to support our project, Environmental Aeroscience Corporation and Cesaroni Technology Incorporated.
Both of these companies offered their unsolicited support to ensure that we successfully complete this project. We were very humbled and gratefull for their encouragement. These companies were also instrumental in the success of the original SpaceShipOne development, so their interest and participation here is overwhelming.
These logos will be prominently displayed separate from any other decoration, likely at the rear of the craft in proximity to the motor nozzle.
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The other company that will get special recognition is my composites supplier — Sticky Stuff Sales. The proprietor, Marvin Wallace, is in incredible guy who has patiently taught me nearly everything I know about fiberglass, polyester resins, epoxy resins, expanding foam, latex, fillers, molds, and probably a few things I shouldn't mention on the Internet.
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Having official sponsors is certainly new territory for us, and it opens up a new set of concerns about other markings on the SS1. If I had no sponsors at all, I would have no hesitation about making all the markings on the aircraft a scale reporduction of the actual flight. But with sponsors, I feel that it is only fair that I give special recognition to those actually supporting the flight.
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And speaking of decals, one of the decorative features of the first X-Prize flight was a panel of sponsors on the side of the SpaceShipOne. Assuming we work out our issues with including logos of companies that have not actually acted as sponsors, I've jinned up a first attempt at creating a decal for the SS1.
And once again, to avoid any misunderstanding — at this time, the only real sponsors we have for the SS1 are Environmental Aeroscience Corporation, Cesaroni Technology Incorporated (which includes Hypertek) and Sticky Stuff Sales. The rest are either the clubs that we fly with, or organizations that deserve a hat-tip because they supported the real thing, or because I need to fill up space:
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The actual placement of the decals is going to be a hybrid of all the SpaceShipOne flights. The sponsor panel didn't actually show up until the winning X-Prize flight. Also, I.m not including the Virgin Galactic logo that appeared that day, and instead allocating that prominent spot to eAc. While not historically accurate, I do find it visually appealing.
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INDEX
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