Royal Kit for Bleriot Mk XI

After spending weeks wondering whether to build this or not, and after receiving a good thread link from Colin A this morning (thanks Colin) I decided to go ahead. This is a die-cut kit, and the bits don't come out as well as laser cut ones. The horizontal stabiliser is weakly attached and fully flying. Both flying surfaces are highly under-cambered. The undercarriage is a long way from scale. So, I shall build it to the plan and see how it works out.

I will be sparing with posts, commenting on each component as it is finished. Here is the first part of the build.





The stabiliser requires some work on the TE before pinning it all down, then mucho packing to allow for the under-camber. The ribs are about 5/16" deep, all the way across the chord, so I had to pack up the main spar to get it all to line up. I shall use Aliphatic glue throughout, with Epoxy for highly stressed bits. I intend to cover it with some light weight nylon that has been in my box for some time, stained in places so that will add character... Two coats of thinned dope to finish. Electric drive, yet to sort out. The plan does not call for wing warping, but let's see.

Phil - Great to see that you decided to go ahead with the build.
Regards
Colin.

Here is the nearly finished tailplane, with the actuator stood in place: it gets bound and epoxied later. Also note the undercamber and thinness of the aerofoil. I might add capping strips to the underside, from 1/64" ply.

Looking good, Phil. Be careful adding weight at the back of a model with such a short nose. I think the covering will add all the strength needed without capping.

I shall be taking some weight out of the all steering rudder. The kit bit is solid hard 3/32" balsa with ribs. Also, replacing the 2/1/2" tail wheel with a tail skid (which some of the 900 plus Bleriot XIs had).

The flying fin/rudder. I took some balsa out of the rear panel and used it to stiffen the structure vertically. The hinges go in the thick tapered bit, and the bit sticking up has to be stiff. As designed, it was just a 1/8" balsa plate, with the two lateral aerofoil ribs each side. I'm using inches because this American Kit, made in Japan, is in inches. I guess the original would have been in mm, as it was French!



The plan shows hinges as little bits of flat plastic. I have a few Robarts which will be stronger. Holding the structure fixed by the tapered bit, it is actually more robust than I expected.