11
You may want to practice with some scrap, bending parallel to the grain of the outer layers of
the plywood. Let it dry overnight.. Either glue in place or leave it in the jig as it may slowly
uncurl if left un-glued for too long. Be careful to make a left and a right leading edge.
Figures 1.7 Leading Edge Jig
Figure 1.8 Leading Edge Clamped on Jig Figure 1.9 Leading Edge Gluing Detail
Glue the leading edge to the spar/rib structure. First, remove the structure from the building
board. Glue the top (the Vee edge) of the leading edge to the top of the spar as shown in Figure
1.9. The leading edge tabs should only overlap about 1/32 of an inch (.8 mm). Be sure each
rib aligns with the Vee notches as shown. Best to start gluing at the two ends and, once you are
sure of the alignment, glue all the other leading edge tabs to the spar. Then glue the bottom of
the leading edge to the ribs being sure the leading edge is pulled tight against them. Clothes
pins help here. Best to start gluing at the middle ribs and work outward.
While the wing is off the building board sight down the ribs and make sure they are all aligned.
Trim the leading edge to match the root rib.
5.
Final wing details
5.a. Bottom rib caps: Each rib has a 1/64 x 1/16 inch (.4 x 1.6 mm) cap on the top and the
bottom. Begin with the bottom caps and glue them first at the back of the leading edge. When
set, glue them along the remainder of the rib. Leave the bottom caps about 1/8 too long when