Guillows SE5a Kit 202 Rubber Power to RC Conversion

[Berns]

Great! I hope they are laser cutting these kits now. You got the sequence; build the wing flat, cut it apart, glue it back together with dihedral. You are referring to the Guillow's SE5A and not the Sunbird, correct?

Yes, the SE5A. And its laser cut. so easy to put together. I remember the old balsa kits when I was a kid, awful.
What sort of shape should leading and tail edges be sanded to? Rounded at the front and flat at the back?
Also, how do I tie the wire to the landing gear as you did? Tiny holes in the balsa and cotton with CA glue?

 

[TooJung2Die]

Glad to hear it's a laser cut kit. The old die-crushed kit I got on eBay was bad.

I rounded the leading and trailing edges of all the flying surfaces. The landing gear in the kit is balsa and weak. The one I built as a boy broke on every landing. I copied the struts to soft wood like fir or spruce. Only the small wing between the wheels is kit balsa. The landing gear wire is lashed to the wood with unwaxed dental floss sewn through small holes. CA glue is then applied to the wire and lashing to secure it. I think the landing gear was most difficult part of the whole build the way I did it but it has held up to some hard landings without damage.