Winter build project: Wolfgang Matt’s ATLAS

The razor plane it was... all I can say is I might need a little practice, but I don't think it's disastrous.

I've been holding back the perfect piece of balsa for the ailerons, it had a good stiffness and not too heavy, but above all was dead straight. Then the blasted thing decided to go banana shaped on me when I cut in two, it must have had quite a lot of tension in the wood. Luckily I cut it over size so was able to get it back into shape. Just goes to show how wood can be deceptive.

With the wing joined, I'm now at the position of aligning things, I guess the first job is the wing to the fuselage, so that I can make the belly pan and sort out the securing bolts.



I'm marking the distances on the aluminum, as a wobbly ruler just became a pain in the neck.

So A=A, B=B & C=C well hopefully they will, is there any other measurements I should make? the nose is angled so there's no convenient point to measure off.

My glassing was a bit uneven so the wing seat needed just a little refining (read a lot of sanding)





But it's looking better now, I just hope I've not adjusted the wing incidence or list to one side.

The measurements you have done will be fine Chris, no need to measure to the nose.

This is one of the more tricky jobs to sort out. The reason it was tricky is that after measuring and checking several times, you have to (somehow) secure the wing to the fuselage, drill for the wing bolts and get the bolt-plate lined up. I can't remember how I did it except I know it took a lot longer to achieve than expected.

It's all taking shape nicely, Chris. Once you've got that belly fairing made you'll be so close to covering...

I used a wobbly ruler because I didn't have any American aluminum to hand.

Thanks John, it's looking okay, I must have measured each measurement at least half a dozen times once I was sure I was lined up, I'll probably measure it all again tomorrow too.

Hi Mike, sorting out the wing bolts will be tomorrow evening's job! Good to know it's a nice easy and straightforward job

Sorry Jon, I spelt your name wrong, hopefully the first and last time.