[cassat]

Good Day Gents,

Well, as some may know, I have been heavy into slope and thermal soaring over the last couple years. This year was full of surprises and not the greatest weather for either. The season ended in a couple of minor bang ups as usual.
Since I usually build from scratch, I thought it would be fun to do a basic kit of the
Great Planes Spirit 2 meter ship. Specs and general info can be found here:
http://www.greatplanes.com/airplanes/gpma0530.html

So as usual per kit, we start with the plans and the tail group. Step one is to lay down a
piece of wax paper over the plan ( hard I know). I decided to use downhill ski wax and a
blowtorch for this step.

[cassat]

Ok, so next step was to lay out the vertical fin and rudder frame using a few diecut pieces and 3/16 sticks. My preference was to use SigBond aliphatic glue but getting low on supply so trying Probond as pictured as suggested by a fellow flyer. Tested on scrap first,
it dried quickly and the break apart test was good. I tend to stay away from CA glues but
that is just me.
I was impressed with the quality of the wood in the kit. Firm but light.

[cassat]

Ok, bit of a delay there. Had to take the dog to banjo lessons.
This is what it looks like complete with cross ribs. They do not have to match the plan exact, but make sure the joints are tight when gluing. the only mod was to add a gusset at the bottom of the fin joint. I used T pins cross pinned over the pieces since I don't like pins thru balsa.
Next step is to remove from plan and final sand.

[John M.]

Nice to see how this one turns out. I got a banged up one in a package deal that I plan to repair and fly. The previous owner put his own design of spoilers on it and I'll want to try them out.

[Mike Sebastien]

What do u use the ski wax for?

[cassat]

Ok. Rudder has been final sanded with a taper to the trail edge. This will reduce drag significantly. CA hinges are being used. Somebody asked how to do this last month. I use a fresh #11 Xacto blade and slot the fin first slowly. Each slot takes about 3 slices pushing thru the balsa. Don't do this if you are having a bad day or stressed out. Make certain that blade won't go thru your hand if you slip and don't force it. I cut my CA hinges down in width and length. I sand the bevel edge on the rudder after all slots are done.
You can use the red center marking tool from Great Planes if you wish. Ready for some monokote and start building the horizontal tail.

[Robert J]

Ready for spring Dave ?? I will bring a glider to PR & try your slope . Going to keep towing at Dennis,s as well .

[cassat]

Yes Robert, ready 30 days ago.
Mike the wax was for the wax paper !!
And John, the spoilers are nice to have
So the monokote was a little tedious today, not much light here today, like Black Friday

[John M.]

Cover job looks like factory arf. Nice.

[cassat]

Thanks John
I did have a chance to view the wing plan and spoiler install. I will probably install the spoilers since the wing uses the faster Selig 3010 airfoil.
Started the horizontal stab. The die cut pieces popped out nicely. The fit was not perfect
as you can see on the right side. So some sanding to do.