I finally started this project after making threats to do it for years.

The idea here is to use an LT-40 fuselage, horizontal stabilizer and vertical stabilizer and marry a 4*60 wing to it. I'm moving the vertical stab backwards so that the rudder hinge is lined up with the elevator hinge. Then I plan to split the elevator into 2 separate control surfaces and run the rudder all the way through to the bottom of the fuse. Probably add a small counter balance to the control surfaces. The idea here is to get more rudder surface and extend it all the way through to the bottom of the fuse - sorta like your typical aerobatic setup.

I bought the LT-40 fuse from Sig on closeout for $30. It's the old ARF version that used rubber band wing attachments. The vertical stab and horizontal were $2 each. So, total cost was $34 + about $8 shipping from Sig. The 4*60 wing was built by a friend years ago after his plane was wrecked on landing. He never finished the rebuild and this wing has sitting sitting around for at least 4 or 5 yrs. I inherited the wing for helping him move. [8D]

I'm going to use a TH .75 engine with a Macs header and tuned pipe.

Progress so far:

First thing I had to do was get the horizontal stab mounted. In stock configuration, the horizontal sticks out past the back of the fuse about 3/8" to allow the elevator room for flexing up and down. I wanted the trailing edge of the stab flush with the back of the fuse, so I cut about 3/8" off the LE of the stab and simply moved it forward.

Stab was secured with 15minute epoxy after I made sure it was all squared up with the fuse.

Next thing to do was get out the levels and incidence meters. I set my level on top of the horizontal stab and blocked up the fuse until the little bubble in the level was dead nuts in the center of the lines. As far as I'm concerned, the stab is now set to zero. I'm taking all incidence readings off the horizontal as if it were set to zero incidence.

I had previously taken the 4*60 wing and stood it on a wingtip. Placed a piece of 8.5 x 11 paper under the wing tip and traced the outline of the airfoil. Drew a line from the dead center of the leading edge to the center of the trailing edge - right through the center of the cord. Then I cut this template out of the paper. I taped the template to a 12" level - being careful to make sure the center line that I had previously drawn down the airfoil was perfectly aligned with the bottom edge of the level.

Now, with the fuse blocked up and the horizontal stab as level as I can get it...

I held the level with the airfoil template (taped to the level) up to the side of the fuse and made sure the bubble was in the center. I moved the level up and down until the center line of the airfoil was touching the BACK of the stock LT-40 wing saddle. Now I needed some help from my wife. She placed small pieces of tape on the airfoil template to secure it to the side of the fuse. I then removed the tape that was holding the template to the level. So, now I got my airfoil taped to the side of the fuse and everything is level.

I traced the airfoil template onto the fuse sides with a ball point pen. Removed the template and used a dremel to hog out the side of the fuse to the new wing shape. A little hand sanding with some 150 grit to clean it up.

First pics are some simple microsoft paint images that I created to help explain the process. Will upload more pics in a second.