Ryan's Daughter - 52" Sport model Model Airplane (short) Kit

[Shaul]

Right Wing - placing the rest of the partitions (=ribs)

Now place the R4 partitions in place. Do not forget the 1.5mm spacers.
Work from the wing-root (R3) to the tip (R5).
Every R4 is glued using 3 drops of CA - to the spar, to the l.e. and to the f.t.e.

 

[Shaul]

Wing Tip and Upper Spar

The wing-tip includes part WT (Wing Tip?) and G1.
Part WT is part of the wings flat bottom and it is on the same level as the lower spar, the f.t.e. and the l.e. - Do not put a spaced under it.
Part G1 supports the covering of the upper side of the wing. Its long side is glues to WT while its short side is glued to R5.


Cut the spar flush with R5 and glue WT with Carpenter's glue to R5, f.t.e. and l.e.
Note that WT is attached the work surface.

Glue G1 with Carpenter's glue to R5 and to WT.
You can leave room for the upper spar to protrude so it can later be glues to G1.

 

[Shaul]

Wing Upper Spar

Cut the upper spar a few millimeters longer than needed.
Now glue the upper spar. Tuck it well into the notches in R3, R4 and R5 but make sure you don't break them.
Use with Carpenter's glue. Start with R1, R3 and R5.
When dry, glue it to parts R4 using thin CA.

 

[Shaul]

Right Wing - Fixed Trailing Edge

The ailerons are placed between two pieces of Fixed Trailing Edge.
I used a piece of 5mmX10mm balsa stick as a shim and modified piece of prefabricated 30mmX9mm trailing edge.
I modified the trailing edge so it will lay flat on the working table in line with the bottom of the wing.

Here's how the inner Fixed Trailing Edge is created:

And the outer Fixed Trailing Edge:

I look at the finished inner Fixed Trailing Edge. Look how the bottom lies flat of the table:

 

[Shaul]

And, to the left wing

Not much to say about the left wing. Just double check that you don't build another right wing!
You need to work on the other wing drawing (The upper one).
Wait with the smoothing and the sanding. I tried to and I ended up with snapping my R4 parts over and over again.
Here is where I am right now:

 

[TooJung2Die]

It's looking good!

 

[speedbirdted]

Looking great so far! I think this kit was originally meant to use a single aileron servo and torque rods to control both ailerons. You could probably fill in the cutout in R1 or fabricate a new rib without a cutout since there's no servo there, and it would be a little stronger and the wing skin would be better supported (if this kit has it)

 

[Shaul]

Looking great so far! I think this kit was originally meant to use a single aileron servo and torque rods to control both ailerons. You could probably fill in the cutout in R1 or fabricate a new rib without a cutout since there's no servo there, and it would be a little stronger and the wing skin would be better supported (if this kit has it)

Yes, filling the cutout is a good idea. Thanks.
The covering is not an issue as it is covered with 1/16 balsa first.

 

[Shaul]

EDIT:
I have written the text at the end of this post before actually completing the wings. I have committed a few mistakes that made my life harder, but I could overcome with relatively minor damage.
Here are a few points to consider before you carry on with your work:

• Cap Strips are very important. They add considerable strength to the otherwise fragile R4 parts. Glue them as soon as possible.
• Balsa Webs also add strength to your wing and they do not interfere with later actions.
• Connecting the wings requires using clamps. Sheeting might interfere. Also, the undercarriage will also interfere.
• undercarriage requires using clamps around R3A+R3+R3A. Sheeting might interfere.
• Sheeting indeed improves wing rigidity and it is easier to do of separate wings. However as I wrote, it makes joining the wings and putting the undercarriage very difficult.

Note that the posts below are done in a different order so my advice is to study them but not follow them. Good Luck.

Just before I continue with the wings, I created a list of the work items and the order in which they are to be carried out.
The list is long and will probably be revised on the fly. However, there are important points to observe before I continue:

1. The sheeting (1.5mm) will be done in the following order:
   1. Rear-bottom: The part behind the spars. Including the servos.
   2. Front-bottom: The part in front of the spars. Do not cover the Brace and undercarriage area.
   3. Rear-top
   4. Front-top: Leave aperture for the ply brace
2. Balsa Webs: There are 7 per wing. Glue them after the Front-bottom sheeting.
3. Prepare the place for the Ply Brace by gluing R1A,R1B and R2A. I intend to add a guide for the brace.
4. The undercarriage is left almost to the last moment.

 

[Shaul]

I began with gluing what I previously called part WP1 - this is the plywood part through which the bolts holding the wings go.
One for each wing. Follow the picture below. Note the location of the rounded corner:

 

[Shaul]

I now start with covering the wing with 1.5mm balsa (sheeting).
Let's start from the bottom.
The rear part of the wing, behind the spars is covered only at the root of the wing.
The cover has a somewhat artistic look:

I cut it so it gets exactly between the bottom spar and the f.t.e. (92mm).
The rounded part has a 32mm radius but it's really not that important.
After gluing each sheet to its wing using thin CA I set to create the frames for my aileron servos (Remember that I replace the original single servo by 2 per-wing servos).
I place each servo inside a plywood frame glued to the above sheet to a spar and to R3.

Here is the plywood frame:

This is where it's put:

I then cut the balsa where the servo goes. I also filed a notch (in the yellow circle) for the servo cable to be squeezed in:

 

[Shaul]

Cap Strips

The Cap Strips serve two distinct purposes:
1. To provide wider surfaces for the covering film to adhere to.
2. To strengthen the flimsy R4 partitions.

For the second reason, it is good to glue them as soon as possible.
The the cap strips glued to the bottom of the wing are glued between the spar and the f.t.e.
Note the grain direction:

 

[Shaul]

You can now glue part R3A.
Glue only one per wing. Use carpenter's glue.
The second one will later seal the undercarriage (u.c.) in place.
I preferred to start off with the external one (the one closer to the tip of the wing).

Glue the front-bottom sheeting in place. Cover from the tip to R3A.
Leave the working place for later insertion of R1A, R1B and R2A.

And now to the Balsa Webs.
These pieces of balsa give considerable rigidity to the wing provided they are well glued to both upper and lower spar.
It is also helpful if they are glues to the partitions.
Make sure the grain direction is as indicated.
Leave room for later covering of the upper part of the wing.
There are 7 on each wing

not that I did not manage to glue all of them to the wing partitions.

 

[Shaul]

Create two pairs of R1A+R1B.
Make sure that the pairs are NOT identical. They should be symmetrical:

 

[Shaul]

Thread the servo cable:

 

[Shaul]

Upper Cap Strips (Should have done it earlier):

 

[Shaul]

Sheeting (Rear-Top)
In retrospect, this step should have waited till the end. It will now be really difficult to clamp the wing dihedral brace to the spars.
Note the holes I created for the servo cables.

 

[Shaul]

Sheeting (front -top)
In retrospect, this step should have waited till the end. It will now be really difficult to clamp the undercarriage music-wire sandwiched inside two R3A parts.

 

[Shaul]

Join the wings

The wings are joined by gluing part WP2 (Dihedral Brace ) to both spars of each wing.
An accurate positioning of WP2 us very important.
In addition, parts R2A and R1A+R1B are glued at this stage.


Place WP2 next to the spars of one wing. The upper part of WP2 and the upper spar should be parallel.
There is a laser sign on WP2 marking its center. Use it to place it so that the wing will almost reach the center.
Place R2A.
Place R1A+R1B so that R1B will face the wing center as seen in the picture below:

The parts are ready to be joined. Do not forger the 1.5 spacers:

Since I was not able to use clamps, I have a set-up that uses a weight and many pins to create pressure on the bonded parts:

Now is the time to glue the second wing into place.
The procedure is similar.
Make sure the dihedral angle is accurate by placing WP2 accurately and by putting something to raise the other wing.

Now is the time to verify that the wings are correctly joined.
Note that the rear part goes not touch.

However, the leading edges of the joined wing are on the same level so we are just fine.

 

[Shaul]

Placing the Dowel

Cut a piece of an 8mm dowel. It will serve to lock the wing in place.

Take a close look at the center of the joint wing.
You will need to create a notch in the leading edge as illustrated below:

Then insert the dowel in place. Verify that it fits well into the fuselage and glue it in place.
You will have to reduce the thickness of the leading edge around R2A in order for it to fit in the fuselage.
You will also need to sand the trailing edge to achieve good symmetrical fitting.