I've just finished building a Phaeton II and the "N" strut fabrication and installation does take some care. I mounted the wings and fitted the struts in place before soldering the stop washers in place. After carefully aligning the wings, I marked the washer location and soldered them in place. The method is a pain to get right when building, but the end results appear quit satisfactory. I don't yet have much time on the airplane but in the event of a crash, I believe the wings will separate with a minimum of damage. To facilitate this, I used 6-32 aluminum screws instead of steel to mount the cabane struts. I made the charging jack available through the cockpit so I wouldn't have to take the wings off to charge the battery, and I made a carrier to fit the bed of my pickup so I can carry it assembled. That way I'm not having to mount the wings at the flying field.

The struts can be mounted by putting brackets in the wing and bolting them in place, but the construction and allignment would be just as much trouble, and I think the damage would be more in event of a crash. Since the struts are not structural, you might consider mounting with rubber bands, I just couldn't think of a way to keep the bands out of sight.

Struts have always been a problem with biplanes, and if anyone out there has a simple solution I would be interested also.