DISCOVERY JET
Construction - Session 4

Ahead to Session 5 or Back - Session 3

Next I figure I would work on the horizontal stab and rudder framing. Before I started cutting the 3/8" inch pieces of foam I used a square to make sure I had a good corner to start with. For the horizontal stab I simply measured out the foam pieces and cut them out. After the foam was cut I framed it up using 3/8" balsa stick. The picture below shows me getting ready to measure out the horizontal stab.

The rudder was a bit tricky since it has a slant. I decided to frame up the rudder first then cut out the foam. To frame the rudder I used the plans and cut the 3/8" balsa sticks matching the rudder outline on the plans. Then I glued the pieces together and use it to trace out the foam piece. As you can see from the picture below I have the foam piece traced and ready to cut.

Using a ruler and my exacto knife I cut the foam following the pattern I marked. As you can tell it came out nice and the fit was perfect. When cutting the foam I did cut just off the line to make the part come out slightly larger insuring a tight fit.

I used the same method as before to construct the rudder control surface. The control surface has been framed from the plans and ready to create the foam pattern.

The foam pattern for the rudder control surface has been traced and ready for cutting.

This shows what tools I was using to cut the 3/8" foam. Nothing special, just a ruler and exacto knife. I cut the foam with two passes. The first pass I aim to just go through about 1/2 of the foam. On the second I aim to cut all the way through.

Once again a nice tight fit. Perfect.

I used some tape to temporarily mount the horizontal and rudder to the Discovery fuselage to get an idea of the overall look. So far things are going well and it appears to be turning out nicely.

Another shot of the horizontal stab and rudder.

Okay, things are still moving forward on the construction of the Discovery jet. The project has not been too hard and I can say it's almost been too easy. Next session should cover the sheeting of the horizontal stab and rudder with 3/32" balsa sheets. To insure a good bond of the sheeting and epoxy, I plan to vacuum bag the parts during the curing process.

Stay tune for Session 5 to be posted soon!

Ahead to Session 5 or Back - Session 3