|
Or, if you prefer, the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. I cut these from solid sheets of 1/4" balsa, then cut out the center of the stabilizers and rudder and glued in pieces of 1/4" square sticks to make them lighter. I cut holes in the elevator with a forster bit to lighten them.
These are the stabilizers, rudder and elevator ready for assembly. The piece of rudder that extends into the water for steering while taxiing is made of Lite Ply and epoxied to the balsa.
I cut a piece of hardwood to connect the two elevator halves and reinforced it with a piece of 1/8" carbon fiber rod because I had heard of a hardwood connector breaking in flight on an Explorer L like I bought, I reinforced the Explorer's connector the same way. The carbon fiber rod runs the length of the connector in a groove. The rod, connector, and elevator pieces are joined with epoxy.
I cut the hinge slots and covered the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. Before this, I had only covered my Alpha fuse. This is my first attempt at covering wing structures.
Web site design, photos, and Clip art editing and |
