Wing sheeting

This really isn't as hard as some people make it out to be. All you really need is a flat hard surface (that's the real trick) and a piece of 3/4" MDS board cut slightly larger than the wing.

As for the sheeting, select 8 pieces of 1/16"x4"x36 for each wing panel. These pieces should be light with minimal defects, about 14 grams a piece is ideal.

Begin by edge sanding the pieces. Stack them up and sand the edge while weighting them down.

Next lay 6 pieces out on a flat, clean table. Check the fit and make any adjustments now.

With 1.5" masking tape, tape the pieces together lengthwise so they are tightly fit against one another.

Do this only on one side. You should be able to open the seam like a hinge.

Open one seam at a time and apply glue.

Apply a small bead of white Elmer's glue to each joint. Wipe off the excess with a paper towel. Weight the skin down so that it doesn't rise and buckle. Move your weights around occasionally so they don't get stuck.

After about 25 minutes, lightly sand the surface with 220 grit paper. Let the dust migrate into the seam, this will fill the crack well. Now let the skin dry for about 1 hour.

Carefully flip the skin over and peel off the tape. be careful here because it's easy to break the sheets apart with too much force.

Wait about 15 minutes and repeat the light sanding. Let dry for a few hours.

Trim the skin square so length-wise the assembly is 33" long.

Taking measurements from ONLY the bottom edge, make marks at 16" on one side, 9" on the other. Using a long straight edge and a very sharp blade, cut the skin in two diagonally as shown.

Now edge sand the skin on the diagonal cut with a long straight bar.

Tape down and attach one piece of 1/16"x 4"x36" balsa using the same methods previously mentioned.

Make a mark at the tip (from the bottom!) at 2" and using a long straight edge, cut away the TE taper as shown.

Let the skinds dry overnight, then block sand them with 220 grit paper.

Using compressed air or a vacuum, clean the skins thoroughly.

Spray the surface of the skin that will attach to the wing with aqua net (or similar) hair spray. Be careful of your skin orientation. The skins will curl up, but don't worry about it.

Let this dry for a couple of hours, then lightly sand with 400 grit or finer. Clean again and you're ready to glue the sheeting.