Flying challenge

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What to do

1. Making the tail
When you make the tail, you might want to cover the plans with waxed paper and build right on top of them - with enough cardboard underneath to protect your work surface. First cut the centre and trailing edge pieces to length and glue them together on the plan. Glue is applied to the joint while holding the parts together – but keep them very still! Next cut the tail side pieces so they fit on the existing structure or match the actual size plan. Angles must be cut accurately or the glue won't hold. Set the tail aside for later.

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2. Wings
Bend the wing lever wires as accurately as possible. Both bends are in the same plane, so the completed part should lie flat. Lever measures 7/8" between wire centres.

After you cut the wing spars, make a hole in each for the wing lever wire. Use a pin for this, or if that splits the wood, twist a piece of cut wire through the spar to make the hole. Make sure the hole is straight. Align the lever parallel with the spar. Wrap with thread as shown, but don't use too much. Saturate the thread with glue, just enough to do the job, and rub it in with a small piece of waxed paper. Set wings aside.

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3. Fuselage
Assemble the wooden fuselage parts first. Then add the aluminium tubing. Make sure the tubing is parallel to the fuselage and that it is not recessed behind the front of the balsa structure. Notice that there is one piece of tubing at the bottom and two at the top.

Make the rear wire piece from a long piece of wire. You will cut off the excess length. First bend the lower part. This is called the tail hook and holds one end of the rubber band. Use a pin to make a hole through the fuselage and then insert the remaining wire through the hole. Bend the wire 90° so it lays back along the upper surface of the wood.

Finish by making an upward bend for the rear spur, which will hold the tail in place, and cut off the excess. Make sure the rear spur is straight up and down when viewed from behind; carefully fix it if necessary by holding the tail hook and twisting the rear spur. Bind with thread where indicated.

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