i'm building the lazy bee, and other people say cap strip the spars. they are soft. what is cap strips and how and what do i make it from.
thanks

Hi Gusman,

When a wing panel is only partly sheeted, the little strips of balsa are glued to the exposed portions of the ribs.
This gives a uniform surface for the covering to adhere to. They are usually made from scraps of balsa the same thickness as the wing sheeting. I would say about 3/8" wide. Depending on your set up.From the rear of the sheeting to the front of the trailing edge.

Hope this helps Gusman + good building.

Sidekick.

cap strips are usually balsa strips glued on top of the ribs,it helps strengthen the ribs and gives the covering a better appearance,strips are 1/16" or 3/32" x 1/4" to 3/8" wide this size is good for most 40 to 120 size planes,small planes smaller strips,larger planes larger strips.

Cap strips can make a huge difference in how well the plane flys. I have seen planes (not sure if kit or arf) that had cap strips but the owner didn't take the time to make sure the covering was ironed on to the strips. I think he assummed the heat gun would do it but it didn't. If the covering isn't secured it ballons out sort of like the old (maybe new) convertible tops while in flight.

thanks, because the ribs are pretty skinny

It's been well said here, the capstrip turns that thin, light but fairly weak strip of balsa into a neat 'I' beam that has much of the stiffness of a thick heavy piece. Ain't geometry neat?

quint

What's geometry? Thought we were talking about a plane,had me one of those geometry things till the handle broke,but done ok,traded it for some Fla.land,hope to see it some day.