I finally have some time to settle down at the workbench and make some progress on the Deltie Airshow model.
Today's focus was on re-building the tips of the booster rocket fins that hold the gliders in place.
If you recall, the earlier versions of these parts were built up with three laminated pieces of 1/16" balsa.
I soon found that those tiny balsa protrusions were easily broken, so those assemblies were subsequently cut off and discarded.
The new versions are built up the same way, except that the outer sections with the protrusions are made of 1/16" basswood instead.
Here are the nine pieces cut from sheet stock:
The parts of the three sub-assemblies are now laminated together.
It's interesting to note that, no matter careful one is when cutting out identical parts, there are some that still end up a little bit larger or smaller than the rest. I still had to do a little sanding on all three units to even up the laminated edges.
Next the sub-assemblies are glued in place on the tips of the main booster fins.
I can see right away that the new basswood glider supports are a huge improvement in strength over the all-balsa versions.
Next step on the fins is to do some gap filling with CWF, followed by sanding everything to an even profile.
Stay tuned....
