Working on the wings. Some tedious slow detail work, fixing problems.


Some of the ribs trailing edge end were a bad fit. Some were under size, some a near prefect fit. Numerous ribs were considerably thinner than the trailing edge stock. Not all though. And I forgot that the inner 3 ribs had to be sheeted with 1/16" center section sheeting. I needed the trailing edge, leading edge and spars to be 1/16" proud of the ribs.


First I addressed the ribs that were to low. They were only low at the rear. I basicly cap stripped them with 1/16" by 1/4" wide strips. This made then a little taller than the T.E. Next I trimmed the cap down to the width of the ribs, 1/16". Followed by some careful work with a sanding bar to make them flush. It worked pretty good I think.


For the center section I made a marking block or gauge. Just two pieces of 1/16" scrap sheet. It basically is a cross with the one piece glued on top of the other. Lay it on the ribs and start marking. Then a bit of careful whittling and sanding made the 3 center ribs ready for center sheeting.


Now that I have a band saw I wont run into these problems again. I will just make to templates and stack cut the all at once. It was just to hard to make template ribs with a coping saw.


But problems solved.


I I have only dome one wing, the one that is going to be the bottom wing. And only one side at that. This is time consuming. The top wing has on additional problem. The trailing edge stock is not perfectly square with the wing. It is at a bit of an angle. I made it first, and tried to align it with a gauge. Thought I had it. But on careful siteing down the length I found it to be misaligned. The bottom wing I eyeballed into true. Got it right. I will have to cut the T.E loose on the top wing and realign it. Then I get to spend a few hours fixing rib fit on it also. I am only doing the center sheeting to the top of the bottom wing and then to the bottom of the top wing for a while. I have mounts to install in the centers. For 6/32 wing bolts on the bottom wing. And cabane strut attachments on the top wing.


I am trying to get to the point were I can attach the bottom wing to the fuse, so I can judge the struts length and angles. Still a heck of a lot of decisions to make.


I only work for short stretches of time, and then my back will start to scream and I retreat to the lazy boy.


They pictures are not the best. I had trouble getting close enough and still reasonably focused. Not a real good camera.


Ken