AS-W15 Kit from 1973 Build Thread

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
I'm jumping right into the sailplane kit I bought a couple of days ago. Its an AS-W15, 100" wingspan model. The fuse is ABS plastic reinforced on the inside with fiberglass. My buddy, who is a craftsman when it comes to anything wood, is over helping out with the build. First pics:

Sail1.JPG sail2.jpg
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Progress tonight. Sluggo, my bud, tore through this like it was cheap toilet paper. His day job is making high end, intricately lain conference tables. This is child's play for him. I just stood back in awe. Oh, I glued a bunch of stuff.

sail3.jpg sail4.jpg sail5.jpg
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Left wing ribs are in place. I'm not crazy about the style of spar. Its just blocking between the ribs. But, it is capped with spruce on the top and bottom, so I guess it will suffice.

Another issue that I am concerned about is the fuselage seem very heavy! Wish I had a scale at home to weigh it.
 

quorneng

Master member
earthsciteach
Its the spruce top and bottom that does all the work. The space in between is a just a 'web' to stop any relative movement between the top and bottom bits of spruce. This does mean the glue joint between the spruce and the web has to be perfect or the wing will fail below its design strength.
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
I did a decent job of sanding the webs nice an flat. But, since you said that, I'm going to go recheck everything!
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Time to revive this ancient build log. After letting the build sit for nearly a year, I've finally gotten back around to it. Left wing is nearly complete and the right wing is under construction. I have the guys who recently posted balsa builds to thank for getting me motivated to work on it, again.
 

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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Nice, I look forward to seeing the progress on your build. The style of this plane is classic and someday maybe I'll add one to my growing fleet!

On a related note, with the rash of balsa builds going on right now maybe we could get the powers-that-be to dedicate a spot on the forum to balsa kit/scratch build planes. I think it would be useful for future builders to have a lot of information compiled in one area.
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Nice, I look forward to seeing the progress on your build. The style of this plane is classic and someday maybe I'll add one to my growing fleet!

On a related note, with the rash of balsa builds going on right now maybe we could get the powers-that-be to dedicate a spot on the forum to balsa kit/scratch build planes. I think it would be useful for future builders to have a lot of information compiled in one area.

A balsa build forum thingy is a great idea. Monkey is on a camping trip in the wilds of Alabama at the moment, but maybe we convince him to create such a thing upon his return. MONKEY????
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Take a look, pgerts. This is a rough fit of the parts. Still have some work to do, but covering is just moments away! I plan on picking up monokote tomorrow. Now, what is the preferred way to fill in and smooth out areas that express my lack of experience and craftsmanship? ;)

I think you'll like my next project, too!
 

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earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Hey! The couch is covered with fleece to keep the dogs from tearing into the leather. What do have against giraffes, anyway? :D
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Balsa filler is what I use. You can get it in white or balsa colored. It works great and hides a lot of building sins.