Building the (Old) FLYLINE Great Lakes 2T-1A Kit (4)

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The next step is the assembly of the outer panels to the center section and the addition of some braces and gussets prior to final sanding. I started the assembly by lining up both outer panels in exact alignment with the center section, in position over the plan, with the center section spaced up off the board with the same blocks I used before.

I trimed the inboard ends of the spars and leading and trailing edges to fit exactly against the center section, glued everything, and clamped spar joined blocks in place using wooden clothespins.

The dihedral angle is set by blocking each wingtip a measured distance off the board before the glue and clamps go on.

This is the left upper wing tip completely assembled and attached to the center section...you can see that the tip is held up off the board by the dihedral angle joint I just glued up.

This is the center section with the outer panels in place. The center section trailing edge consists of two pieces cut from 1/2" balsa printwood. Here they are shaped to outline but not yet contoured or sanded smooth.

This is the leading edge assembled in position before I did any shaping or sanding.

This is the underside of the right wing panel before sanding. Notice where I have glued in two triangular gussets next to the fourth rib. These will serve as reinforcements for strut attachment hardware later. Rather than try to match the balsa sheet gussets exactly to the lower wing surface, I used over-thick material that I will later sand flush for an exact fit.

Next time we’ll get the top wing trimmed and sanded to final shape.

6 Comments

  1. Hi bob, Would the 3/4 in dihedral be measured from the tabletop if you have the spacer blocks inserted under the center section?

    • Jim,

      The original plan shows the dihedral determined by blocking the tip 3/4″ off the building board surface. If you have the center section raised off the board by alignment or jigging blocks of any sort, the trick is to measure the distance of the lowest point of the center section from the board and add that amount to 3/4″. For instance, if you have blocked the center ribs 1/8″ off the board, you would add that amount to the 3/4″ and block the tips at 7/8″.

  2. Bob

    Nice job with this blog. This is my first balsa build. Without this blog I do not think I could pull it off.

    I have a question regarding the dihedral angle.

    Is the 3/4 measurement taken from lowest point on the wing to the wing tip center or the lowest point to the lowest wing tip underside point?

    Mike

    • Mike,

      Thanks for the kind words. As it turns out I think I messed up and didn’t
      include any specifics on setting up that part of the wing construction in
      the blog. With this kit, as with just about any other (unless the directions
      call it out differently), the wing dihedral measurement is taken from the
      building surface to the lowest point on the outermost (tip) rib, not to any
      part of the tip structure itself.

      Bob

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