T
RIM the wing root to the sweep angle
shown on the plans. Clean up the cut, and
sand the dihedral angle. We prop each wing
tip up 1
3
⁄
4
" with the root at the edge of the
workbench and use the edge of the bench to
guide the sanding block. Take your time and
get the angle right. Mark the location of the
aileron cable tunnel on top of the wing as
shown.
Glue the wing halves together with 5 minute
epoxy. Wipe off any excess glue before it
cures. It is very important make the dihedral
angle as shown on the plans. An error in the
dihedral will change the vertical location of
the CG. The resulting offset between the
thrust line and the CG will cause Phoenix to loop as it leaves
the launcher. If you change the dihedral, you will have to
change the thrust line to compensate. This will take a lot of
trial and error before you get it right again!
Glass the joint top and bottom with the 6" wide cloth and
epoxy.
When the resin is cured, trim the cloth at the leading and
trailing edges.
C
UT a “tunnel” for the aileron cable. Find a
12" long piece of brass tubing of a diame-
ter large enough to clear your servo connec-
tors (but not more than
1
⁄
2
"). Sharpen one
end with a knife or file.
Very carefully, use the tubing to cut out the
foam as shown. We generally cut about an
inch or two, remove the tubing, push the
“plug”of foam out of the brass tube with a
balsa stick and then continue. You should be
able to feel the progress of the tubing with
your other hand right through the wood
skins. Do not let the tubing cut through the
skins. Try to aim the tubing at the servo
cutout. You might want to draw some refer-
ence lines to help guide the cut. Make sure the holes on each
panel line up at the root.
It might have been easier to cut the tunnel before skinning the
wings, however the pressure from the vacuum bag would
have crushed the wing!
Sharpen tube
Cut tunnel
Phoenix
Page 15
Wing Construction
Cut aileron lead tunnel
Trim the wing roots
Sand the dihedral angle
Glue the wings together
Get the dihedral right!
Glass the wing center
Join wing halves
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
❏
