D.P.R Rare Bird Sailplane

A- the two 3mm x 3mm lengths for wing seat doublers
B - and 4 gussets cut from 9mm x 3 mm balsa to reinforce areas of stress at the rear of formers F3 and F5

A- A length of 6mm x 3mm cut to fit across the top of F3 and over the top of the two F11's
B- F11 sections to surpport the cockpit sheeting
C-Cookpit sheeting
D-Two gussets to the rear of F1 to support the cockpit sheeting

plywood skid/towhook 1.5mm thick x 2 put together and glued then sanded (fiddily suckers to get inbetween! )

Use a cardboard nail-file!

OOO, GUSSETES, i love gussets, :whistle: especially when you get the wood grain in the right direction, SO many have i had words with about this, well done Sarah, looking good,

All nose block laminations glued together ready for sanding (looking foward to this bit! )





Everything has now been sanded nice and flush to its counterparts. I like a neat job :lol: :lol: :lol:

any tips on the nose mucho appreciated before I start sanding- am not 100% sure which way up it is supposed to be but looking at the plan the smooth areas (see picture) are the top and bottom of the nose, the "steps" part (cant think how to describe it lol) are the sides of the nose.

Wont matter much if you attack with sandpaper, but if you use a razor plane, the two bits at the bottom may cause you grief, the grains going across the other pieces, you need the grain all going the right way, or the crossgrained wood may prove troublesome, make sure you use a block with some course paper, going down in grades, see if you can find some garment paper for that final sanding--lovely stuff

the grains going across the other pieces, you need the grain all going the right way, or the crossgrained wood may prove troublesome

These pieces were already dye cut onto the sheets of balsa so didnt have much option with the two bottom pieces grain going wrong direction but if I was doing it myself free hand I would have all grain same way, cos am a finicky one hehe!

Am I supposed to round the edges too, or do they remain sharp?

a nice rounded shape, just like your

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erm, nose :whistle:

alan cantwell wrote: a nice rounded shape, just like your

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erm, nose :whistle:

ROFLMAO-I won't tell you what it is resembling at the moment, cos it is rude, but it is not an appendage I have!! haha!

How rounded are we talking, like making it more a cone shape all the way around or just rounded a tad?

Like a rounded cone, not a pyramid! Although as the fuselage is basically a square box, start square at the fus, and go rounder as it goes towards the point.
The stepped edges are the sides, so look at the fus, hold the nose block on, and see which way looks best to you, if the other two sides aren't identical.
You usually find the underside is the flatter of the two.
The drawing should show you, as well.

Doesnt say in the plans if it is more rounded, no drawings of it and not in the instructions


More rounding needed?

As I said above - match it to the fuselage shape, at the base, but round off the corners more as you go towards the top.

Reeeeeeeeeet, Fin done bloomin instructions a tad dodgy here!




F12, F13 and F14 ;are all marked, all face the same way.......oh nooooooooo they don't!! You will notice F12 is missing (bottom left brace. Thats because the makers had printed the number on the wrong side!! Didnt notice until had glued it already lol but rescued, redone and another gusset (especially for Alan :kiss: :lol: ) inserted.
Strips for the uprights and cross members are from 3mm x 3mm
leading and trailing edge are 6mm x 3mm
The two uprights are NOT glued together, that is because I have to cut at the topand then hinge the rudder so it can be adjusted- although not sure how, the two small metal flat plates in the box ...erm..... no idea how to attach? wondered if was meant to bend them around the wood?