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Old 11-11-2018, 09:33 AM
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Originally Posted by Hortco

have you built one before?
would you build the wing or make a kit?
how accurate would it be?
Not specifically for the Kougar but I've scratch built from plans many times. It's not hard. To start you need to make a couple of drawings. The first is basically a wing plan for one side showing the rib spacing, sweep if any, etc. Basically you draw a rough set of plans.

The second is the profile of the root and tip airfoils. Easiest ways to do this would be to trace around the remnants of the original foam wing assuming at least one half is intact. Reduce accordingly for any sheeting that may be on it. From these profiles you then cut templates from 3/16 or thicker ply. Mark the top and bottom of the templates even if they're symmetrical. The hard part is orienting the two templates to each other for proper wing sweep, washout, etc. Once they are lined up with each other you then drill alignment holes in them. These holes are then used, with bolts, to clamp rib blanks between the templates. You then carve and sand away everything outside the templates until you end up with what looks like a very short wing panel. Notch for spars and trim for LE and TE and go from there. The number of blanks will equal the number of wing ribs on each side. So you do the carving/sanding process twice. One for each side of the wing.

It's not hard but does require paying attention to what you're doing. Was a time I'd roll the parts for a wing out in an afternoon and have it framed up that evening. But I've slowed down a bit since then. And once you've done it, you wonder why you never did it before.

The accuracy is all in how your measurements are when doing the initial profiles and templates. Of course you also have to determine how many ribs per side. For the Kougar I'd be tempted to space them every 2 inches. Maybe as much as 2.5. I'd have to look it over first.

Here's a video showing the basic technique. Should give you the idea. A table mounted drum or disc sander is super helpful with this process.