The wing spars are built up from balsa with a ply doubler (above left). The main spar has a doubler on both sides and the rear joiner is one side only. The wing is built directly over the plan, one panel at a time. After the first panel is complete the second panel (above center) is assembled in the same fashion. Again, the opposite wing is blocked up to prevent accidental damage. The rudder and elevator outlines (at right) are bowed from strip wood over foam board forms. The wood for the bows was stripped from 1⁄32 balsa sheet using a Master Airscrew balsa stripper.
ception of the motor, the R/C equipment is built into the fuselage completely hidden from view. The battery is placed in a com- partment in the nose, and if a small enough battery is used, can be hidden behind a sim- ple balsa or plastic hatch. The motor is fitted into a notch in the nose, but once in the air, you won’t even notice it.
Construction begins
Work starts with bowing up the outlines for the wing tips, rudder and elevators. Make up the bowing patterns from 3⁄16-inch thick artists foam board, that’s available in Staples or other office supply stores, using the patterns provided on the plan. The rud- der bow is made up from two laminations,
and three laminations are used for the ele- vators. Strip the 1⁄32 × 3⁄32-inch balsa strips from 1⁄32-inch sheet wood using a sharp hob- by knife and a straight edge or a balsa strip- ping tool. The wing tips are made up from two laminations of 1⁄16 × 1⁄8 balsa. If you’re new to the process of bowing outlines, visit the “Building Tips” section and select Item #1 at
www.patscustom-models.com for a full rundown on how the process works. With the outlines on the forms drying, now is a good time to cut out all of the parts using the assembly drawings and cross sec- tional views on the plan. If you prefer to build the model using laser-cut parts, a wood pack is available from the author. Building the tail section: Frame the
rudder and elevator directly over the plan using the part numbers and wood sizes shown. Once the glue is dry, remove from the plans and sand to shape using the cross sectional views as reference. The hinge an- gle should be sanded into the bottom side of the elevator, but for the rudder it won’t make any difference, either side is fine. Building the wing: Join the left and right hand wing spars A1 at the center and glue an A1A spar doubler on both sides of the spar assembly. Then glue A2 and A2A together in the same fashion. Pin the trail- ing edge of the wing over the plan, then fit and pin the 1⁄16 square balsa rib bottoms in place at rib R3–R7 using the rib cross sec- tional views for reference. Glue the spar and
The fuselage components are cut out and laid out (above left) in preparation for assembly. Balsa wing saddle doublers (above right) are glued in place on the fuselage sides to stiffen the opening. The internal components (below left) are laid out in the fuselage and secured with silicone caulk. The wire pushrods are
run in through the guide holes in the formers and the servos aligned and secured with silicone. The motor is slipped in place on the mount (below right) and secured with CA. Be sure to add a bit of down and right thrust when aligning the motor.
FLYING MODELS
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