I'm planning to paint the model so Keven recommend that I seal the foam edges with Skin-It prior to painting.

I used a Q-Tip and spread it out with a thin piece of balsa.

Wipe off the extra with a paper towel.

Cut some 1/4" thick plywood pieces for wing hold down blocks.

I also cut a piece of 1/16" thick plywood for use with the rear wing hold down blocks.

You can use Shoe Goo or epoxy to attach the blocks. I've had better luck with Shoe Glue and that is what I used.

Let the glue dry overnight before drilling and taping.

Tape the wing to the fuselage and check the alignment.

If all is fine drill and tap for the nylon bolts.

I used 1/4" x 20 on the front and #10 x 24 on the rear.

Tape the landing gear onto the wing.

Drill and tap for some #10 x 24 nylon screws.

The screws are countersunk by drilling the hole oversize and following with a larger drill bit.

I decided to vacuum bag a third wing tonight. The method is the same as shown in the earlier posts.

With a little luck there should be 3 Proud Birds for the February Phoenix races.

There is a construction thread on the vacuum pump on the building tips forum of the www.NMPRA.org site.

Well the building season is officially here.

It's time to finish up the Proud Birds. I liked Art's kit so well that I've been building 3.

Each takes about 30 hours to build plus painting.

You can mount the elevator horn on bottom or top of the elevator. A longer control horn can be used when mounting on top of the elevator.

The horns are made from music wire, sheet brass, a couple nuts, and silver solder.

A Dremel tool was used to grind out the area for the elevator horn.

Note that when the horn goes on top the gap-less hinge is located on the bottom of the control surface. [8D]

I chose to install the elevator horns on top of the elevator.

A small slot is cut to allow the installation of the horn.

The elevator is slid into the fuselage and parts are aligned.

The elevator was then glued in place with 30 minute epoxy.

After the tail surfaces dry it is time to glue in the elevator horn.

Begin by grinding off any extra epoxy at the joint. Then follow by drilling a hole for access to the horn.

Pin the elevator horn in place and center it so that it is between the sides of the rudder.

Make a dam out of balsa to keep the epoxy out of the hinge line.

Mix some epoxy (Skin-It) and micro-balloons until there is a thick mixture.

Dab the epoxy mix it in place and let dry.

After the micro-balloon epoxy is dry grind the surface flush with a Dremel tool.

Remove the balsa dam at the hinge and use a Zona saw to free the elevator from the horizontal stab.

Check the operation of the control surface. The surface should allow about 1/4" throw each way.

The wing bolts were countersunk using a large drill bit.

After roughing out the hole reverse the direction of the bit to finish the surface.

The belly pan can be permanently attached or taped on with racing tape.

On this model the belly pan is attached with Shoe Goo.

Trim parts to fit.

Trace the pan with a pencil.

Apply some Shoe Goo and tape the pan in place until the glue dries.

After the Shoo Goo dries sand the surface and apply some polyester filler at the joint.

Sand the filler to a smooth joint.

Next is gluing on a piece of balsa in the vertical stabilizer.

Mark the cut line and cut with either a Zona saw or Dremel tool. It's a little easier to cut with a cut off wheel on the Dremel.

Shape a piece of 3/16" thick piece of hard balsa to fit. Glue on the wood with epoxy or Shoe Goo.

Let dry as needed.

The radio and tank installation were planned out on the side of the fuselage. Don't worry, a little thinner will remove the marker.

A couple balsa sticks were attached with CA glue.

Make a tray to fit and install the servos.

Attach the tray using Shoe Goo.

The aileron servo can be mounted in a couple ways.

Use 3/8" dowel rods and mount the servo on top of the wing. This method was considered.

This method was used: A hole was cut to allow the placement of the servo. The servo goes through the wing and is covered by the belly pan. The servo was mounted as far to the rear as possible.

By locating the servo farther to the rear a CG tank can be located near the center of gravity.

Use a Zona saw or equal to cut the rudder at the hinge line.

Cut slots for the CA hinges and test fit.

Remove the hinges and trim the edge of the rudder with a Dremel.

Install the hinges and CA them in place.

A rudder horn is made from a 6 x 32 screw and nylon aileron horn.

A hole is drilled in the rudder and the horn is glued in place with CA or epoxy.

The model is equipped with carbon fiber pushrods. They were constructed similar to that shown on the Super T web site.

The elevator horn is located in the rudder.

The rudder pushrod is done similarly.

The side near the rudder has a threaded end.

A Z-bend will later be used to attach to the servo horn.

The cowl is fitted next.

This is done by trial and error.

Install the engine and mark the approximate cut lines. Remove a little at a time until the cowl fits.

On my other two models some time was saved by tracing the original cowl.

Sand the joint as needed to remove the seam.

Screw in the nylon bolts in the wing hold down holes. Screw in the motor mount screws.

Cover the engine compartment and wing saddle with paper towels to keep the paint out.

Fill any larger holes (more than 1/8") with polyester filler.

Allow to dry and sand as needed.

Mix some Spackle and water to get a mixture the thickness of latex paint.

Put on some rubber gloves.

Spread the mix on the airframe. Work the mix into the surface to fill all the small holes.

Set the parts out of the way to dry.

After the Spackle is dry sand the surface with 150 grit sandpaper on a sanding block.

The purpose is to leave a smooth surface ready for the primer.

Use a small screwdriver to clear out the hinge line.

Put some tape over the wing landing gear blocks to keep the paint out of the threads.