Very nice.  Do you load the battery from the side?

Um, regarding your vitals, if the wing span is 56 inches and the wing area is 581 square inches, the aspect ratio is 5.40.  Aspect ratio is defined as span squared over area.  As for the "volumes", they appear to be flap area / wing area and tail area / wing area.  Tail volume is something else.  There is no such thing as flap volume. 

I'm doing the Lost Foam wing jig first.  I glued the template drawings to 1/16 ply with 3M 77 spray glue.  I usually have a 3/4 ramp into the LE and a 1 ramp off the TE.  The LE ramp is angled at 30 degrees and has a 1/8 radius when it hits the LE.  I do this to aid me when I cut the foam.  This method allows the cutting wire to flow freely into the rounded LE of the airfoil.  I also made the TE a little thicker (about 1/32) at the tip due to the wire having to travel slower when cutting.  The slower moving wire has a tendency to "undercut' the foam slightly more than the rest of the airfoil.  Especially with 1# foam.  This jig is made with 2# foam.

After the airfoil is cut out the foam is sanded smooth and the LE flash is rounded off.  The cradles are then sanded and trued if need be.  These were right on the money!

Then I copied the rib locations to the foam to be cut into individual rib jigs.  The cradles will be glued together and the the rib, spar, and TE sheeting will be drawn onto the cradles.  Stay tuned.

Thanks Lee, hope you and Helga have a Merry Christmas too!

I did some more work on the LF jig.  I cut out the individual templates for each rib, transferred the spar. rib, brace and TE sheeting onto the jig.  I also smeared some glue on the edges of the templates.  I also cut out the LE buck and glued it to 1/2 plywood base.  I tried a novel way of clapming down the foam to the plywood.  My bench has some holes for the fuselage jig and I used them to lace some #64 rubber bands through and kept in place with a small length of dowel then held down on the other side with a pin.  Worked out great!

I finished smearing the glue and sanding the LF jig blocks.  They are ready to start making ribs.

The LE buck is dry and I made up 2 LE sheets.  Each is made up from a 2" center piece and 2 3" end pieces.  The center sheet is cut from a 4" wide 1/16 A grain 5.8# balsa sheet.  This allows the grain to run parallel to the LE so it will wrap around it without any problems.  The end pieces are made from 8# balsa.  The "taper" is cut from each end piece.  I have the grain running parallel to the spar.  So the taper is cut where the end piece meets the center piece.  I feel thus gives me the most strength.  The 3 pieces are joined using thin CA glue as per Bob Hunt's method.  One the glue has cured, the LE sheeting is then sanded with 220 grit and a sanding bar.  A quick hit with the vacuum and there are ready to be molded.

I soak the LE sheeting in hot water in the bath tub.  No ammonia used at all!  I let the sheeting soak for at least 45 minutes.  Then the excess water is rubbed off and the the sheet is blotted on both sides with a paper towel.  Time to go on the LE mold.  I use 2 pieces of masking tape about 3" longer on each side about 4 inches in from the end of the sheeting.  I then place the mold in position and then pull up the root side of the sheeting onto the mold.  Sorta rolling the sheeting onto the mold.  I then use the tape to hold it into position.  Then I do the same near the tip.

I use 4" wide bed sheet material to wrap the sheeting to the mold.  This won't mar the sheeting like an ACE bandage will.  (Thanks to Al Rabe for this tip.)  I start at the root side and have the end of the wrap on the bottom of the mold then I start winding.  I have the end on the bottom so it doesn't mar the balsa.  The far end of the 4" wrap is secured to my bench with a short piece of maple motor mount and a spring clamp.  I proceed to wrap the mold with about 50% overlap keeping the bed sheet material nice and smooth.  We don't want to mar the balsa.  When I reach the end of the wrap and there is more balsa to be wrapped, I use a piece of masking tape to secure the end of the first wrap and start a second wrap just like the first.  The second wrap is secured with masking tape also.  The whole thing will be left out in the sun fro a few days to dry real good.  Then the second LE sheeting will be molded.  I found out if you pull the sheeting off the mold too soon, it has a tendency to "open" up and not be the true shape that we want it to be.

Crist, you sure do great work.  Will be keeping track of this one.

I use 4" wide bed sheet material to wrap the sheeting to the mold.  This won't mar the sheeting like an ACE bandage will.  (Thanks to Al Rabe for this tip.)  I start at the root side and have the end of the wrap on the bottom of the mold then I start winding.  I have the end on the bottom so it doesn't mar the balsa.  The far end of the 4" wrap is secured to my bench with a short piece of maple motor mount and a spring clamp.  I proceed to wrap the mold with about 50% overlap keeping the bed sheet material nice and smooth.  We don't want to mar the balsa.  When I reach the end of the wrap and there is more balsa to be wrapped, I use a piece of masking tape to secure the end of the first wrap and start a second wrap just like the first.  The second wrap is secured with masking tape also.  The whole thing will be left out in the sun fro a few days to dry real good. 

Thanks for the bed sheet tip. 

I won't be putting anything out in the sun, though.  If you leave something out in the sun here, it just gets wetter.

Cool radio, does that get FM?


MM

It's a 1936 Philco 60B radio that I restored electrically and the also redid the cabinet.  It receives AM and SW only.  No FM.

Like those spars.  Can you post a close-up of one of the ribs.

Hi Crist.  I admire your radio restoration.  I'm also into restoration of Heathkit and other old ham radios.

Floyd

Thank you Howard.  I've used this type of construction before but never used wing mounted LG.  This one will have the LG in the wing.

OK, lots got done today.  I finished the prep work and started building the wing.  Left side first then the right side.

First thing I wanted to show you guys was the jig & fixture I use to notch the spars for the ribs.  I built a sliding fixture that I hold the spar against either for a straight cut or an angled left or right cut.  The saw is a cheapie Harbor Freight saw.  It is cheap but gets the job done.  In reality it is pretty gutless.  The blade is 1/16 wide and I set the height to 1/4 inch above the floor of the fixture.  The hardest part is making sure you cut the correct angle at each rib location.  

BTW, If this looks like a Morris Millennium type of construction, you're right.  But it has my take on it.  I might call it the Lost Millennium wing construction.  I used the Lost Foam jig to cut out the ribs and the jig blocks to build the wing.  The LE does have a 1/16 sheet running from root to tip.  This 1/16 is wider that the standard Millennium construction.  This is when the wing is ready for the LE sheeting, I plan on cutting off the 1/4 inch Millennium LE, leaving the 1/16 and then go back to the Lost Foam jig to glue on the molded LE.  I'll let you know how it works out.  I did take the left wing panel and placed it in the LF jig and it fit perfectly.  I know what you're asking.  Why didn't just go with the LF construction?  Well my foam near the TE has a very small scallop to it.  About maybe 1/32 inch.  Guess I'm out of practice of cutting foam.  I think also that the foam is 2# stuff and I hurried the wire ever so slightly, which produced the small scallop.  Morris Millennium wing give dead straight TE.  

I taped down a full size drawing of my wing to my building glass.  The TE jig blocks are glued to the glass using medium CA.  The ribs are then put into the spars by sliding the spar through the large hole in the middle then the rib is rotated to its position on the spar.  You'll notice that the spar location is marked on each rib.  When all the ribs are on the spar except the root and tip ribs, the ribs are inserted onto the TE.  Each rib has a 3/32 slot cut into it for this.  The 3/32 comes from 3 layers of 1/32 balsa with the middle layer going cross grain and skipped at each hinge location to form the hinge slots.  

Then the ribs are positioned on the 1/16 LE again using 1/16 slots.  The 1/4 inch large balsa "LE" are used only to help keep the LE straight and also fits the jig blocks.  I made the 1/16 LE sheet 1/8 inch wider than normal so I could pin a 1/8 square against the 1/4 balsa.  This is my "locator" for the LE of each rib.  Once the ribs are glued to the LE 1/16  sheet it was removed.  I'm sure the pictures will make this a lot clearer.

I then make sure the ribs are positioned and that the TE are up against the 1/4 balsa.  Then the TE are glued with medium CA and a Teflon tube to control the amount of glue used.  Then the LE is glued.  On to the spar.  It is glued to the root and tip ribs first.  Then I used a straight edge to align the spar so it is nice and straight.  I also check it it is vertical.  The the top of the spar is glued.  I then pull the wing panel from the TE jig blocks and turn it over to get the bottom.  The TE is inserted into the jig blocks and the LE jig blocks are weighted down as before.  The TE then the LE are glued then the spar is straitened and glue like the top side.  The wing panel is flipped over and the wing is sanded lightly with a long bar sander and the TE sheeting is glued on using Pica Gluit.  The it is flipped back upside down to get sanded and the TE sheeting added.

That's where I'm now.  I also have the LG mounts epoxied and drying over night.  Those will go in tomorrow and the LE sheeting will be added.

One last picture of the shop.  Enjoy.

Back to the radio for a minute, beautiful job on the chassis restoration. Were you able to restore the dial or is that a reproduction? I am sure it never looked that good when new. I have a similar-vintage Zenith in a stand-up cabinet that produces beautiful sound, on AM and SW. All original, though the tubes have been replaced from time to time. Bought it for $5 at a rummage sale around 1960.

Oh, and the model is pretty impressive too. Nice touch building in the trailing edge partial ribs in advance, never thought of doing it that way. Your shop is too clean to be real, must be a retouched photo.

Back to the radio for a minute, beautiful job on the chassis restoration. Were you able to restore the dial or is that a reproduction? I am sure it never looked that good when new. I have a similar-vintage Zenith in a stand-up cabinet that produces beautiful sound, on AM and SW. All original, though the tubes have been replaced from time to time. Bought it for $5 at a rummage sale around 1960.

Oh, and the model is pretty impressive too. Nice touch building in the trailing edge partial ribs in advance, never thought of doing it that way. Your shop is too clean to be real, must be a retouched photo.

Thank you.
The dial is a repro from Radio Daze.  The original was broken.
Be careful playing the Zenith with all original parts.  The electrolytics and paper caps can cause real problems.  

I've been debating on the best way to do the LE sheeting.  I see going 1 of 2 ways.  

First is just like the Lost Foam method which means cutting off the Mille LE and sanding the 1/16 balsa nice and straight.  Also I won't be able to use the Mille jig blocks on the TE.  Maybe not a big deal since the TE shear webs were added.

Second was to split the LE sheeting on the center line and glue it to the wing ala Mille method.  This would require a careful cut and a good fit at the 1/16 sheeting on the very LE.  The good is that I can keep the Mille jig blocks not only for the TE, but the LE as well.

I thought about the 2 methods for awhile then I decided to take a nap!  Now that I'm retired, thinking wears me out.  

The decision is coming.......stay tuned!  Kinda like the LeBron thing a few years ago, huh?  LOL!

I love the construction of this wing.  Too bad you have to hide it under paint.

I have a feeling that some transparent Kote would go well....

Marcus

I mounted the tip weight box in the outer most rib bay.  When I made up the spars, I used a piece of 1/16 balsa as a shear web to cover the entire bay.  The tip weight box will be glued to this balsa along with the LE sheeting.

To locate the box I pushed a pin down through the LE sheeting to locate the 1/16 shear web and the angle ribs.  Once these were located I drew a line there and placed the box on that line and traced around the remaining edges to locate the cut out in the LE sheeting.  I cut along the marks and did some small detail sanding for a good fit.  I want the box to be snug up against the shear web.  Once located properly, I then used medium CA to glue the box the the shear web from the hole in the web and the hole in the tip rib.  I then glued the box to the LE sheeting using thin CA.  The 1/64 ply skirt will first be sanded down to the LE sheeting then the cover will be carved and sanded to its final shape.

Good work as usual Crist

Hope I can remember all of this on the weight box.

Looking real good Crist.. I sure hope the Tornado's missed you !!! The National news mentioned your town as having been hit by the bad weather..

Next up I sanded the TE to a tapered shape.  I did not round the TE yet.  Waiting for the wing tips, then it'll get rounded.

I use a piece of 1" masking tape along the TE overlapping the cap strips about 3/8 inch.  The tape overlap helps prevent from "catching" a cap strip with the sandin bar when sanding the TE.  Also I use the tape as an "indicator" when I'm planning down the TE.  When I hit the tape with the block plane, time to stop and switch to the sanding bar.  One of the pictures shows the TE after sanding.  The "guide" line is just visible.

Then I worked on the LG mounts and covers.  I used 6# 1/4 balsa on each side and 6# 1/8 balsa fore and aft.  These were fitted and glued in using thin CA.
The covers are 1/32 ply with 6# 1/4 balsa filler and 7/32 al. tubing for the socket screw pockets.  These were epoxied in using 30 minute epoxy.  Then trimmed to fit and sanded down to the airfoil.  Again masking tape was used like on the tip weight box cover.  The covers will be reduced on each side to allow room for the Monokote.  Of course they have to be notched for the LG wire yet.

Crist, that wing is a masterpiece, well done

You sure are getting it together at an impressive pace too.

I'll be watching this build with great interest.

Dan

Holy mackerel! That is wonderful, Crist! Makes me want to throw my new wing in the garbage and turn out the shop lights!

Today I built the stab between naps.  I'm feeling a bit under the weather.  Posts will be slow over the next few days till I feel better.

I used 2 pieces of 7.8# 3/16 x 1/2 balsa and some 1/32 balsa to form the hinge slots for the TE.  The LE and tips were built with the same stuff.  I used medium CA to glue them together.  Then on the LE and TE I used some .007 unidirectional carbon fiber to stiffen them up.  the CF was glued to the LE and TE using medium CA.

The "ribs" are 7.3# 1/8 balsa.  These were stripped a little higher than the LE and TE so they could be sanded down flush.  I really don't like it when a rib goes below the LE or TE.  The ribs and sheeting were glued with thin CA.  I put 2 holes in each rib to allow air to escape through a 1/4 hole in the bottom sheeting when I Monokote the stab.  And any subsequent tightening up in the future.  The sheeting is 1/16 7.4# balsa.

The top sheet was glued to the ribs using Pica Gluit and the the LE and TE with thin CA because the sheeting butts up against the CF.

Then it was all sanded down, the TE rounded and the LE brought to an ellipse shape.  The tips rounded off and the TE tips were given the thin CA treatment.  All that's left to do is detail sand it then it'll be ready to cover.

The stab as it sits weighs 35 grams.  9 grams under budget.