This model is truly different from any I have built since 1954.

Ty:
First off CONGRATS on the electric, like John P said - I think you will be hooked.

That is a unique spar set-up.  Ought to be pretty stiff tho.  Electra calls for over/under leadouts too, doesn't it?

Yes, the spar is a sort of faux I-beam. The ribs twist and lock into place, but the spar does not go all the way to theunderside of the sheeting.

The sheeting must be split, and a small pie slice removed, so that the sheeting will pull down tight to the tip and tip ribs.

It's important to retain the over under leadouts, and make sure the up and down lines exit at the proper locations. The exit location shown on the plans is very close to where you want them, but make the over-under leadouts adjustable about 1/4" easc way.

The wing does come out pretty stiff, with the tip sheeting, I think you're going to enjoy the build.

Ty, if you have any questions feel free to contact me, or better yet, Bart may jump in to help.

I'm sorry to hear you are having problems Ty. Just so you know, it was Dick WWilliams who designed the wing, and fuse that way. Once you are familiar, and understand his construction methods, they build easily.

Start by building the spar. Make sure its straight, and matches the drawing.

Mark centerlines on the ribs.

You then slip the ribs into place. It's easy to slid them in, match up with the little slots, and then twist 90 degrees, so the rib is now 90 degrees to the flat of the spar. As you found out, DO NOT glue them in place yet.

I made some holders out of scrap balsa, to hold the spar up off of the building board, and keep it  perpendicular to the building board.

Mark the centerline of the leading and trailing edges, and tack glue them to their respective locations at the front, or rear of the ribs.

Once you are satisfied that everything is where it needs to be, you can glue the ribs into place, and finish gluing the leading and trailing edges into place.

Trailing edge sheeting is next. Make sure everything is straight before you do anything more than tack glue.

The leading edge sheeting is a little more daunting at first glance. The taper changes over the last 3 or 4 ribs, and the sheeting will not lay down properly with out making a slice from about the middle of the sheet where the sheeting last naturally contacts the rib, all the way out to the end of the sheeting.

The trick now, is to lay the front half tight to the ribs, out to the tip, then lay the back half tight to the ribs, but, overlapping the front piece.

Use a sharp exacto knife, and cut a straight line, through the overlaps. Remove the resultant balsa triangles. The remaining balsa shoulf now easily glue down to the ribs. Use thin ca and glue the edges of the slit where it comes together. You should have an almost invisible joint. The sheeting will glue down the the 1/8" balsa wing tip.

You can use a fuselage jig, you just let the formers barely touch at the widest part of the former, and use some thin Ca to hold them in place.

Wet the outsides of the aft fuselage, and roll the sides into the curve, using thin Ca to hold it into place.

The beauty of this style of fuse construction is the great stregnth, and twist resistance, gained from the curved sides.

Some builders have gotten confused when inserting the wing. The wing is basically symetrical in the fact the both wing panels are equal when you build it. The wing is inserted with the centerline of the wing along the inside of the inboard fuse side. This gives a modicum of asymetry in relation to the centerline of the fuse. It also means that the Bell Crank, and the gear and wheels are not located symetrical to the centerline of the wing. Please pay attention to the plans. Unfortunatly, the plans in the kit only show one side of the wing, so sometimes builders get confused.

Feel free to ask, if you've any more questions.

Ty,

Maybe you should try an electric profile first. Just to get your feet wet with electric.  The motor, battery, speedcontroller you bought for the "Electra" would work in a profile ship.  I know, for a fact, that you have many profile ships hanging on the wall that you could convert.  What brought this to mind was Ron Heckler's article An Electrified Stunter on page 60 of May 2011 Model Aviation.  It's a good read.

For those who may desire to build the Electra, or Tempest, (Same wing) here's a small Drawing in the Adobe pdf format, that you can print out on your home printer. It illustrates how to construct an adjustable over-under leadout assy.

Cheers

I'll check my photos, and see if I can find one showing the details at the wingtip. It seems to me that Clints Tempest is set up this way. Got a picture Clint?

Well, I have stopped all construction on the Electra and have finished the electric installation on a modified Tom Morris quick build version of the Magnum Plus.  I am now convinced it is easier to build a plane DESIGNED for electric, than to try and convert one already built for IC. The battery area needs to be bigger than the area for a fuel tank, first and foremost, as trying to remove or modify this area can ruin the fuselage. Guess how I learned this tid bit. Cowls are easier with less holes, but aLL THAT WIRING CAN BE A STRUGGLE TO GET INTO PLACE. kINDA LIKE HERDIN CATS. 

Retrofits are possible but (as you discovered) can be painful.  Wiring on the next will be better, and the next one better yet.

Got any I-Beam kits laying around (ok that was a dumb question)  LOTS of room to mess around inside on those, just have to make sure the wiring does not touch the bellcrank arm (guess how I learned?)