
Mountain Models Flashback
33
Since you’re gluing so many joints at this point, it’s going to seem like you’re
using a TON of glue. Mind you, you might be…and if that’s the case, try to
ease it on back. However, you do want to make sure that your joints are
bonded securely; weak wings are a bad thing. I feel like I need to stress this
a bit more. NEVER sacrifice strength for weight…while a light plane is
important, a strong plane is a plane that you’ll have around for awhile.
Attaching the Leading Edge
You are going to be attaching the leading edges to the front of the wings. For this
process, you’re going to need:
•
Balsa leading edge center (Figure I)
•
2 - 1/8” x18” hardwood dowels
!
Attaching the leading edge
1.
Cut each of the 1/8” hardwood dowels to length (approximately 17
”
), and then glue
them into place, flush with the outside of the wing tips.
I’ve found that gluing the leading edges can be a bit tricky. You really need to
make sure that the wing ribs stay straight; since it’s really easy to tweak them
one way or another while you’re gluing. I’ve found that the best way to make
sure things stay straight is to hold the wing so that the trailing edge is on the
table and the leading edge is facing the ceiling. Position the leading edge into
the outermost slot for the wingtip rib. Line up the rest of the leading edge
length along the tops of the remaining wing ribs, but DO NOT push them into
place. Glue the piece of the leading edge that you pushed into the wingtip rib
first, and then move to the next rib, only then pushing it straight down into the
slot and gluing that section into place. Continue with all of the ribs in the same
manner. Begin with the wingtip rib for the other half of the wing.
2.
Position the center leading edge piece into place, between the center ribs and behind
the two hardwood dowels, and glue it into place.
You may need to trim the hardwood dowel where it goes
into the center leading edge.
Glue the center leading edge piece to the wing ribs using thin CA, but use thick
CA to glue it to the dowels.