Well, here we go. The build has started (finally) and I'll be posting progress from time to time. I'm not a fast builder and the weather in the Northeast will be getting worse now so please be patient. I'll assume that most viewers will be familiar with basic building techniques so I'll just be touching the high spots.
My building "board" is a heavy piece of plate glass to which I fasten a 12" x 48" ceiling tile with tape and glue so its pretty flat. Then I tape the plan to the tile and then cover the plan with whatever clear wrap the wife has in stock at the time. This sits on my regular workbench which is pretty flat as well. I've built plenty of wings fuses etc. this way and they always come out ultra straight (unless I've had a bit too much of the JW Black )
Adhesives I favor in no particular order are: Titebond, CA's, 5 and 30 minute epoxies.
Pic #1 is my original Aquila sometime in the 70's (when I had more hair and less stomach) . #2 is the kit box which for it's age is in pretty good condition and #3 is the stab just started. Note the color of the plan. How yellow it is after 30 or so years.
If anyone's got any questions, please ask. I don't pretend to have all the answers but I have built a couple of sailplanes over the years Thanks for looking.

Dave

Hey Dave...........1977 your dating yourself bro.
I would have to say the Aquila line is my all time favorite plane.
Keep the pics coming.......I always like watching a Aquila build.
I had a primo Aquila Kit a few months ago and sold it for some odd reason.
Now I wish I had it back.
Good luck on the build.

Hey Dave,

Sweet plane...! Really liked the covering on the first one, look forward during the winter months with the progress on this one... Thanks for sharing...

Well, there will be a minor delay in the Aquila build as I played submarine captain with my Onyx this weekend at the sod farm where my club flies . Landed right in the center of the drainage ditch due to high winds and pilot stupidity. All dried out now with no ill effects so far Have to rebuild the flap linkages due to severe flutter on takeoff (strong winch, strong wind) so thats going to put me behind on the Aquila but I figure whats the rush anyway. More to come so stay tuned.
Dave

Dave;
It was good to see you on Saturday. Give a shout out if you need any assistance.

Kurt

Thanks Kurt. I do have some pics from Saturday that I'll be sending you for the website.

Dave

Got a little done this week after repairing the Onyx. Stabs about half done now. I deviated from the build sequence a bit by installing the joiners before pulling the stabs from the board and turning them over as they want in the instructions. I'll finish them either tonight or tomorrow (more rain and wind in the forecast so no flying just some building) Stay tuned!

Dave

Hey Dave... If you are not going to crimp the ends of the brass then I would suggest plugging them some way. It would be a real pain if you loose one of the rods in the stab.... just an FYI.

Kurt

Thanks for the FYI Kurt. I haven't forgotten to do it. Will do it when I pull from the board and fit the vertical stab fairings prior to sanding all to finished shape.

OK fans, finished up the stabs and rough sanded them and the stab roots for the rudder. Will start the rudder in the next couple of days. I had forgotten how cathartic building can be. More to come. Keep watchin'

Dave

Dave.... I should have thought about this before you got this far. None the less, what I've learned from the past is the leading and trailing edges of the stab may tend to bow when covering them with Monokote. The solution for this is to laminate a 1/16" piece of bass or spruce on the "inner" part of the LE & TE balsa stock. I prefer the bass because it is about as strong as spruce and has less pitch. It also strengthens the LE from dings on landing if you happen to hit some rather "stiff" grass.

Great build so far. Keep up the great work... I'll get you get back to your therapy building session...

Kurt

Tail section is looking great!
kzimmerm good tip for stiffening the LE and TE.

Thanks Kurt, good idea. I'll give it some thought.

Dave

Just curious: Does the kit include the "Phillips entry" mod to the wing, or does it only have the partial D-tube, wing structure, with no bottom sheeting along the leading edge?

Originally Posted by gyrocptr

Just curious: Does the kit include the "Phillips entry" mod to the wing, or does it only have the partial D-tube, wing structure, with no bottom sheeting along the leading edge?

No The kit does not have the well known "Miller Mod" that Skip used to win the Worlds with. I'm still debating weather or not I'll go ahead and do it. I have the details and it's not difficult to do. I will however be adding CF wing spars and a larger CF wing joiner as well as kevlar wrapping the joiner boxes in both inboard wing roots all for additional strength in those areas. I well remember the "Hobie Hawk" look when winching my first Aquila. Thanks for asking.

Dave