Thanks Mark

We are now getting to the "details" phase of building, with all the major components completed, and will be fast approaching the covering phase. Looks like all three of us are leaning to a silkspan/dope job. For some reason I can't bring myself to use iron-on coverings on this plane, inspite of the fact I haven't silked and doped a plane since 1967. We have been doing our homework on the art of silking and doping, and are hoping the skills will return, and quickly.

News....... for those who liked this article......as the Simla picture caption suggested, the story is not over on the Simla. We have agreed on a follow-up construction article on ...scheduled for the January 2011 issue. . This of course assumes that the plane will actually lift off the ground, make a lap of the field and land. Details, details, but Michale actually expects it to fly. I have already begun work on the article, (multiple re-writes are manditory), and have started gathering background pictures...some of these have appeared on the thread. The article will concentrate on the Simla story, the "International Simla Re-creation Project", and what we were trying to achieve by re-creating the model. It will not be a step-by-step process construction piece with tons of construction pictures...instead, since the building is straight-forward, (and the person who will build the plane probably has some experience, though it is not absolutely necessary), building comments will concentrate on some of the details and choices the builder will need to decide upon to personalize his own version of the plane.

What kind of decisions are we talking about??. One example is the decision to build an exact reproduction or not. We believe we have enough information about how Ed designed the plane, that an individual who wanted to create a faithful reproduction of the original in every way, (including a slit maple block with bolts to squeeze down on the aluminum tips of the plug in wings), he can do it...but our goal was to try to save weight, and build a plane on the INSIDE that takes advantage of some of the newer building methods that have come along over the past 40 years, such as CF or aluminum wing tubes. The plane lends itself well to the newer building methods, and we know that Ed himself would have taken advantage of any competitive edge he could find. The builder could however re-create the adjustable wing for low-mid-and shoulder wing position, adjustable stab incidence and adjustable dihedral....the works if they so desire. We chose NOT to do this, but we will help you by providing documentation if requested.

Just wanted you to be aware of what is coming down the road. Need to get back to building....

Duane