Construction: As I said in the article, we went into the construction of the Simla from the point of view of wanting to incorporate and take advantage of the newer technology that has come along over the past 47 years. We didn't want to build a REPLICA of the Simla duplicating Ed in every detail. For those who may want to do that, we have details of Ed's methods we can share with you showing his aileron belcranks and single servo arrangement. Ed pioneered the "plug-in" wing concept, but he did it with a solid maple block with a slit in it, and some bolts to hold an aluminum plug in the wing to the block. This of course is the price he had to pay for being a pioneer...he had to make all his hardware, and couldn't just go down to the LHS, or order from Tower Hobbies. Ed was meticulous about wood selection, and built extremely light, but we didn't use hand-selected contest throughout. We made up for it by using a carbon fiber wing tube, and the smaller, lighter radios of today.

Ed was limited in adhesives, engine availability, covering materials, and as we said, the radios available. We are able to match the powerplant to the finished plane to get the performance the Ed could only dream of. The basic construction METHOD we used was the same Ed used back in the 1960s, a basic "box" structure with hollowed balsa blocks on top, and around the nose. If you REALLY want to try to save weight, the builder is free to experiment with sheeted formers in these areas while using the construction of the modern, commercially produced ARFs as a guide.

So go out and gather your engine and materials, and we'll meet back here to begin construction. I started on the horizontal stabilizer in order to get something done quickly, and get my building techniques back to acceptable levels. To be honest, right now I can't remember if I built the wing or the fuselage after the stab, but I'll check into that by the date of the construction photos.

It took me a little over six months from box to the first test flights. Judging what what I've been hearing, many of you are going to build your a LOT faster than that. Even though mine's done, I hope I can keep up with you in this build thread.

I believe you will LOVE both building and flying your Simla, and that it will be worth the expense and building time to own your own piece of modeling history. Not every plane you see at the field has a story like the Simla, (and its re-creation) to brag to your flying buddies about at the field. Feel free to contribute new building ideas and improvements to the building methods.

Talk to you soon, and we'll get started. Any questions before we start?
Duane