WING ASSEMBLY____________

I've fitted the parts together several times to check that I've got it all correct, now, a final check and it is time to glue. Before I do, I've marked the spars at the Rib 2 position, this is where I want a 2° bend for the dihedral. A digital angle/level is ideal for this job.

 

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I made some aluminum brackets to lock the U/C mount nuts in place. It all gets glued into place. Once the wings are together they will be inaccessible because I don't want to put removable panels all over the aircraft. If you have a better way of approaching this please leave a comment.

 

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Considering the inevitable prang, I decided to make the nacelles screw mounted rather than glued. This way they might tear away rather than smash. I'll use 2 pins at the leading edge and I've mounted this ply attachment plate at the rear.

 

 

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The forward rake of the leading edge near the fuselage is reminiscent of the Mustang wing. In the Mustang the 'kink' was added to accommodate the retracts, an added benefit was increased wing area and, I suspect, better air flow. This 'kink' in the Comanche wing is not to facilitate the U/C so it must have been added for its aerodynamic benefits or, perhaps it's just there because it looks good :).

To achieve this on the model, I've cut and angled some of the 12mm tube and riveted it to leading edge and gluing it to the ribs.

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Crunch time. After double checking, the ribs are tacked into place with super glue. One final check of alignment and position and I apply the 2 part epoxy. I've also glued in the wheel deck, nacelle mount and servo mounts.

 

 

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Once the trailing edges are cut out, it's time to fit the hinges. I'm using 3 standard plastic hinges on each flap and aileron. Make sure that they are accurately aligned and centered, if not they will cause the stiffness in the movement of the surface. I slotted the ply trailing edge and used pins to secure the hinge, snipped the pins and glued some scrap balsa over them to secure them in position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Next, the trailing edges were glued into place and some of the wiring is positioned.

 

 

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With this done to all spars, it's time reassembly and gluing. I tack it together with super glue and then, with everything checked, I hit it with 2 part epoxy.