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Dave Diels Engineering, Inc Kit #23, Grumman F7F-3 Tigercat by David Duckett. Viewed 795 times.
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David Duckett10-Aug-09 21:47
David Duckett10-Aug-09 22:18
I used 1/8" balsa for the back spar instead of the 1/16" x 1/8" piece per plan. Increasing the surface area gives the covering more to adhere to. I added 1/16" x 1/8" strips to the top and bottom of the same size piece that is the leading edge. I then added the 1/16" stringers top and bottom (the plan calls for only one). Finally I added pieces of 1/16" stock to fill in the area between the leading edge and the first stringer. It's now ready for shaping and sanding. All the extra stringers define the shape and provide a more realistic appearance and the extra wood at the front will make shaping much easier. I don't like using 1/16" stringers but this is a fairly small and lightweight structure and larger stringers are too large. Once it's all together, it's quite strong. I will still add extra wood to the center where it is glued into the main structure and I'll probably fill it in completely with wood before covering but this is the structure I would use if covering with silkspan, after sanding and prepping, of course.
BillParker11-Aug-09 10:32
Thank you Dave, very helpful. This structure will help "stiffen" my tail feathers. When the horizontal is 36" wide, the tips tend to want to droop. Can't have that!
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