models in the making

Let us watch your model in the making, from when you open the kit to air-borne! Don't feel you have to chronicle every step, unless you want to. Just send an occasional picture or two and an explanatory note and we can catch up with your progress from time to time on this new page. It will only appear when there's something to report and we can keep as many projects going as you wish. I must reserve the right to select pictures, though, otherwise the page will take too long to download.

JOHN DUXBURY'S LASER 200

I apologise that, as a result of my being away from home for the two days immediately prior to uploading this issue, I was unable to include John's latest progress report on this issue. Due to other important model flying matters, though, John says progress has been a bit slow over this last two weeks, so we might have more jto catch up with next time!

ALVARO RIASCOS' SUPER CUB

Alvaro's latest project is a J3 Super Cub from Hobby Lobby. Two shots of progress to date show the construction of one outer wing, fuselage and stabilizer and elevator.

It's difficult to tell what scale this is, but it looks something like 1:5, maybe even bigger. Perhaps Alvaro will give us a few more details with his next progress shots.

REG'S SIG CITABRIA

With the main construction now complete, it's time for all those little bits of additional detail.

Two hardwood wing struts for each wing. Tapered and rounded, threaded control rod and brass shim inset into either end for fixing to the fuselage with a clevis and screwed to a fixing plate inset into the wing.

A pair of jury struts (optional) that fix between the wing struts and the wing. They are made from 1/16" music wire bent to shape with each upright bounded by a strip of 1/16" square basswood. The gaps at the side of the wire are to be filled and the struts then sanded to shape. The wire prongs slide into short pieces of brass tubing that are inset into the underside of the wing.

Here, I'm just finishing the cut-out in one of the wheel pants, made from two ABS plastic mouldings glued together with cyano. It remains to be seen if the model will be flown with the wheel pants, as the wheels are only 3" diameter and our field is probably a bit too unfriendly for them not to become a problem.

Wing blocks carved and sanded. Also visible is the servo installation temporarily in place to check the positioning of the throttle cable whilst the engine was also temporarily mounted and the plumbing sorted out (right).