what do i do first?

[steve pagano]

I am silkspaning my vector 40 arc the wing is already in silver but the fuse. hasent been covered yet. I would like to have all the parts in silver before i join them.Can i silkspan the fuse before placing it on the wing? or will the fuse warp?

[Bill Gruby]

Steve;

  If there is going to be a warp of any kind I would think it would happen either way you do it. I have alwaays covered after assembly, but again I really don't see what difference it would make. Anybody else?

  "Billy G" 

[Richard Grogan]

I am silkspaning my vector 40 arc the wing is already in silver but the fuse. hasent been covered yet. I would like to have all the parts in silver before i join them.Can i silkspan the fuse before placing it on the wing? or will the fuse warp?

Steve,
For ease of handling, you can do most of the fuse/ tailfeathers covering before you mount the wing. Up to the point where you need to stop and mount the wing and you have the bottom piece of the fuse that is attached to the wing.
Mount the wing with epoxy, do the filling around this piece, and silkspan it and blend it into the fuse.It'd be easier to show you, but I cant! Point being you can build and cover the whole thing at once and risk punctures from handling, or do it in assemblies in easier to handle pieces. Just remember that all glue joints need to be WOOD to WOOD!!(no tissue to wood joints!!)
And of course add your fillets last before finishing. I'm sure others will add to this. I am building a Vector kit, and this is how I plan to do it as well.
Good luck and keep it fun!

[steve pagano]

Hi Bill;


     For me i assemble everything in the end so this way the less time i work on a fully assembled model the less chance of putting dents and dings in the plane since i have a small work area to build in.

[Bill Little]

Hi Steve,

Having seen a whole lot of airplanes being built on video by Windy (he does it pretty good), I can say that he has everything as finished as he can, especially the wing up through silver before he puts it all together.  I do remember that he puts fillets on the inside as well as the outside of the wing/fuselage joint, and the fuselage is usually covered after assembly.  That is, the top and bottom blocks were carved then popped off to hollow and the wing installed so that he could get all the way around the wing joint on the inside of the fuselage sides.  I haven't seen him on tape in a while, but he nver had a problem that I ever heard of by epoxying the finished wing straight into the fuselage. 

Me, I do all my covering (usually), wings and all, after the plane is basically fframed up.  Of course, there isn't any other way to do it with an I beam.  (Well actually there is but it takes longer and it's a pain! LOL!!)  Plus I don't poke as many holes in the silkspan that way............

Bill <><

[frank carlisle]

I gotta go along with covering the fuselage aafter the plane is assembled. Reason being you need the top and bottom blocks off and the wing and stab in to set the control system.

[Bill Little]

I gotta go along with covering the fuselage aafter the plane is assembled. Reason being you need the top and bottom blocks off and the wing and stab in to set the control system.

That's the major problem I ran into when "assembling" my Nobler ARF.  Everything was "finished"!  I cut a slot out the back of the "finished" fuselage to slide in the stab.  Then but the wood back and patched it with extra "whatevercoat" it's covered with.