Monday 2 February 2015

45" Wakefield wings almost finished

Over the weekend I completed the final elliptical wingtip and tailplane and assembled the 45" wings to the EasyBuild Wakefield.


I need to add in some central strengtheners, do some more sanding and add in few triangular fillets, but the hard part is now complete.  The angle of the photo made the ribs look a bit distorted for some reason, I can assure you that they are set correctly.   The wingtips sport a 4" dihedral, but for a 12-13" wingtip isn't too severe as it first sounds.

I now need to find a large board to start constructing the rather long fuselage... onwards and upwards!

Sunday 1 February 2015

Accurately cutting balsa strip

Cutting balsa sheet by hand using a metal ruler and a sharp modelling knife has always proven to be tricky to get the perfect cut of balsa strip.  One of the presents I received at Christmas was this simple and yet very effective balsa stripper.  The width of the cut can be easily and accurately adjusted by turning the dial.  The knife blade can be adjusted to the required depth and cutting angle to get the perfect cut.


Not bad for under £10 for the cutter including postage. I wonder why I never got around to acquiring one earlier..