| Here are some more ideas to think about and spur you on-
Walk the streets for discarded Estate agents signs,they are made these days from Correx board,now this really is useful stuff for making those wings,it is rigid and will bend to a Clark Y aerofoil shape as in your Auster,even if you make up corrugated card wings this is how to tackle it,firstly cut out the plan form of the wing shape including the wingtip which will be bent upwards after scoring,next glue a wooden leading edge ( unshaped at this stage ) you can use hardwood because this will act as your spar and also where you can attach brackets to fix to the fuselage ( a good way is to make pin point brackets whereby a piano wire rod passes from the front ) then the struts hold the wings with the correct dihedral angle etc,next cut out some stout ribs fixed at strategic points just aft of the leading edge but allow for a wooden trailing edge ( you could possibly butt the sheet upper surface right up to the trailing edge,but from past experience this looks a bit on the thick side ) next sink another narrow leading edge piece just deep enough to take the top sheeting for the wing,a good adhesive for this is Thixofix contact adhesive,you apply it,allow to dry and then fix the covering from the leading edge,carefully rolling it over the ribs until it meets the rear,quicker to do than describe.
Ailerons are best cut out later,if you have a bandsaw then ideal,once cut out undersize them to allow for the leading edge piece which could be top hinged,you could also allow for the differential at this stage ie more up aileron than down,this is very important on high wing designs as it stops the horrible aileron reversal which even early Auster aircraft suffered from.
Reinforcement at the spar joints is best made with epoxy and hardwood trapping the metal wing joiners,make sure that you rough up the metal fittings first so the slow drying araldite gets to grip.
Wing rib tapes can be added from strips of card glued chordwise across the wings leading edge to trailing edge,then you scrim can be PVA'd over the whole lot,this will give you that slight sag in the places where the ribs are positioned,this type of structure is rock solid,I built a Junkers 52 3/m from card this way winding cord around the wings to get the corrugated effect,it flew successfully on a single engine with the two outboards just windmilling along,I may build another one day for electric.
You mention if I have built large models from card before ? loads of them,after all it is still the cheapest material around and is tough and does not shatter like balsa does.
Think also of exploring foamboard,a great modern material made from foam laminated either side with thin card,it is expensive by comparison with freebie card packing cases,but there again is often discarded from exhibitions etc and can be found in skips,the lettering applied is of no consequence as it can easily be painted over with artists acrylic paint.
__________________ 'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !' www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/ |