Right Wing XV

8/21/2006

I wanted the aileron bay area to be cloaked with a radius. So I decided to use some 1/32 birch ply. I formed the ply between two primitive wood formers, having first put the ply through a dishwasher cycle to make it more plyable. This was left for a couple of days. I decided to fit the ply in sections rather than attempt it in one piece, due to a lot of cut-outs for hinges and drag wire blocks. The gouges you see in the aluminium trailing edge was where I had to use a Dremel to create access for the lower hinge base AN bolts.

I started out using paper templates, but soon got the hang of cutting trimming the ply to fit around the obstacles. After the T-88 has cured I will use some lightweight epoxy filler to seal any unsightly gaps then clear-coat it.

It seems I am almost at the end of this seemingly monolithic sub-project...the lower right wing is almost complete! I'm sure I can hear a drum-role...