I would like some opinions on sheeting a 102" wing with balsa. I will have the wing in a jig so I can build about 2 degrees of wash-out into the wing. I have heard that its best to glue all the strips together then put on in one piece. But then, what about compound curves? Any advice would be appreciated.

Hellooooooooooooooooo out there!!!
Has building 1/4 scale airplanes from wood gone the way of the dinos? Have ARFs and foam taken over the hobby? Am I really that old??? hehehe.

Glue the sheets together--I use Titebond 'cause I think it is easier to sand than CA. Sand the sheets when the glue is dry as it is amost impossible to sand smooth when glued to the ribs.

[>:]I then cut to slightly over size to take into account rib curvature. I wet it with a mix of 1/3rd ammonia and 2/3rd water, tape and pin the sheeting into place, and let dry over night. I know that ammonia isn't really supposed to help but it helps me--at least in my head! That helps with the curves, especially the compound ones.

The next day I trim the sheeting to size, glue it down with thick CA or Titebond, pin and tape, and let the glue cure. Sand, turn the jig over, and do the bottom the same way.

[sm=stupid.gif]If the bottom is flat the ammonia and water usually isn't necessary. With an undercamber, I go through the water, ammonia, tape, pins, and drying routine.

Bill

I would use 3/32" thick sheets with the lightest at the last 1/2 toward the wing tip if possible.

Just curious Skeletor.......whatcha buildin?

Since you did not give a lot of information, it's hard to know what your doing. I assume your going to have to splice sheets together, tip to tip, and that you will sheet 1/2 of the wing at a time. Do not butt joint the sheets. True the lengths of the sheets first, on one side. Overlap them and cut at least a 45% splice in them at the same time. Use aliphatic resin (titebond or equilevent) for sanding purposes. Using a straight edge, glue the splice. After the splices have dried, true the other side of the strip.

After you have enough strips, glue them together as RAMFlyer suggested. Do not line all the splices up cordwise. You don't want to create a shear point. As taildrager suggested, if you want 1/16 sheet on the final result, start with 3/32 and you will have some to sand away and still have 1/16 left.

I am not sure why RAMFlyer has doubts about using ammonia. It changes the balsa at the cellular level and allows it to curve duing applicaiton. After is has evaporated, it has no fruther affect. Water works, but not nearly as well. Generally, just shooting both sides with Windex with ammonia works fine.

After the wing halves are joined, or sheeted and finished, I would glass the center section for strength, assuming this is a one piece wing. With a little care and a light touch on the resin, you will never know it was glassed when it's done and it will add almost no weight realitive the the strength it adds at the center. Of course, if it is a two piece wing, this is unnecessary.

Thanks you guys.
I'm building a 1/4 scale P-51 By Bud Nosen, So far, I have the fuse built up to the L.E of the wing. The tail feathers are complete but not hinged or attached to the fuse. I have made many changes to this kit.
The firewall was changed to 1/4 aircraft ply and moved back to the ply that the L.E. of the wing attaches to. Several conditions prompted me to do this. First, when trying to form the sheeting around the bulkheads ahead of the wing. It seemed that no ammount of wetting and rubber bands would hold the balsa in the compound curve. I tried several times with and without ammonia. I then purchased a fiberglass cowling that extends all the way back to the L.E. of the wing. (also a new canopy, the one from Nosen wasnt all that great.) I have not yet cut the sheeting off ahead of the L.E. and I plan to split the cowl and permantly attach the top half to the fuse. Also I plan to use a 3W 150 in-line twin. (This is the last major expense remaining.) I can build a stand off motor mount for what ever engine I use. When I bought the Tru-Turn spinner I bought back plates for both the 3W and the G-62 The spinner was cut to fit props sizes up to the APC which needs the most room of all the props I have.
When building the horizontal stab, I found that it will not build as the plans say. The sheeting would pull the edges up and would have been bowed if I had not caught it before putting on the top sheet. I added balsa blocks everywhere for Robart pin hinges.
The wing ribs were reinforced and hardwood rails were added for Spring-Air retracts after buying 2 different brands of tailwheel retracts, I ended up building my own. I will post some pics later. thanks again, James

hehehe, I like this one.

oops, lets try this again.

The ugly dude is in there for scale references.

Here is a pic of the firewall and the dowel I saddeled along the fuse to help tie it in. I also pinned the sheeting to the firewall with 1/8" dowels

here is a pic of the tail wheel retract I built. Research tells me that the Mustangs tail wheel retracts more up than forward. The retracts I bought from Robart and Century swing back and up in an arch and neither would work without cutting into the bulkhead. I had already built the tail wheel doors.

here is one of the mains. I laminated ply to the ribs for strength. The rectangular balsa tube is for the servo wires and air tube. There will be one Futaba 9303 for each control surface.

Just a couple more questons. Cutting the sheeting on a 45, I assume that you mean across the sheet and not along the edge. Not lining them up is a good idea. after I built the first half of the fuse, I noticed that the plans had me make the splices right above the wing. I have laminated 1/64 ply behind the splices in the fuse along with a rib-like dowl shown in one of the above pics, for extra strength. I am also going to glass the whole plane when its done.
Thanks again