Thanks Bob. As none of my planes have flaps, I am thinking of adding them to this build. BTW, does anybody out there have a photo of how the servo rod to the flap horn exits the wing? I would assume it passes through a slit in the covering...


PP

Hi guys. Here is a photo of what I have done so far. I have removed the covering from both existing wings so that I can rebuild them. It was the first sailplane I had built so there are a few things I wanted to correct. I want both wings to be straight and clean when done.
I received my carbon tail boom and had to order three trailing edge pieces from Hobby Lobby Intl. as my LHS did not have them. They shipped them in a flimsy cardboard container so two arrived broken but the breaks were outside of the usable length, I'm not worried about it. I also bought a lot O' wood for tail cone, sheeting, new wing tips, shear webs, etc.
Now I need to get back at organizing the table. More photos coming.


PP

Looking good PP. I'll be watching.

Bob in Seattle

I'll be watching also. I'm still in NC, spoiling grandchildren. I have my Mini-Bird wing about ready to stain and cover. I can't wait to get it finished.

Dave

PP,
Nice work getting the covering off without leaving much of a trace. Do you plan to remove the tips and extend outward, or rebuild the root side?

R2R, I removed the very tips of the wings as they were built up tips and didn't help anything. I am going to replace the tips with solid balsa just like my OLYIII.
I now plan to take all of the warp and bend out of the wings and will build a 30"center panel to get the span out to 130". That will make it a three piece wing. It will work similar to an AVA.
The photo shows that the wing has been started. Any cuts or snips of any wood components will be reinforced with light glass cloth and 30 minute epoxy. On this wing the trailing edge was warped and I am going to replace it with a new trailing edge and make it a flap. I am also going to replace the 1/4" dowel leading edge.

PP!
I don't know if this will help much, as I was a bit 'heavy' on the wing gap,-(for clearnces if I remember rightly) but I did this contained set up for a canard mainwing- which of course doesn't need much throw, but it is how I'm Planning the Sir Regis wing- as now

Thanks Cap for the photos. I figure I'll go with the flaps hinged on the bottom and a slight gap on the top.

PP

Sorry about the quality of this photo, but it is good enough to ask a question. If I wrap the sheeting over the top of the spar, it will leave a 1/16" ridge. Do I just carefully sand that down as flush as I can to meet the rib? These ribs were not meant for sheeting so they did not have a raised profile just aft of the spar. Or can I sand down the rib slightly forward of the spar and run the sheeting up against the spar?
Would be interested in hearing how some of you solved this problem in the past.

PP

Hi PP,

It's going to be harder to sand all those ribs down 1/16th inch. I would just run it over the top of the spar and feather it in. Just enough to make the covering blend nicely. The problem I see with sanding all those ribs is that you might loose the shape of the leading edge, and then the sheeting might not make contact nicely with them. Only my 2 cents worth.

Bob in Seattle

Thanks Bob. And good to hear from you on this fine new years day. Thanks for the reply. I thought I had heard of the technique you describe and I think I will use it. But I wasn't sure where or if I had actually heard it and thought I'd ask to be sure it wasn't my imagination....


PP

HI PP,

It's a sunny 23 degrees here in Seattle. That's WAY below our normal of about 33.
The thing about airfoils, is that the leading edge 25% of the foil, is supposed to be the most critical part of the the foil. I read that somewhere here. So rather than risk altering that shape, I'd just feather the back edge of the sheeting to match the ribs.

Bob in Seattle

Hey PP,

What about just sticking some 1/16th cap strips on top of the ribs to meet the new sheeting. Sure the wing will be a little thicker, but you'll have less sag between ribs and it's not really a speed demon anyway so the thickness won't hurt much.

Hoss

Hi Hoss,

That's a really good idea. Why didn't I think of that ????

Bob in Seattle

Experience! Bob! pure experience!