Woodwork on the Wings is Done!

Well, after loads of procrastinating—and just doing other stuff—I've been going gangbusters on the plane over the past month or so. I've completed the butt ribs (the innermost ribs on all four wings that go near the fuselage on the lower wing and near each other on the upper wing), the ailerons, and some other tweaks on the upper wing ribs.

I am not completely done with these wood pieces. There are some things that will need to be hand fit after I get the hardware and begin assembling the wings. However, I've done as much as I can do at this point.

After sitting for over a year, the epoxy was bad (its shelf life is one year), so I had to buy another epoxy kit (about $60). If you build your own plane, there is no reason you shouldn't be able to finish the wing(s) in a year and avoid wasting sixty bucks on another quart of epoxy.

Next will be to purchase the hardware kits for assembling the wings. There is one main one and a few small ones. The total cost will be in the neighborhood of $1,500.

One of the upper wing butt ribs. I put epoxy on the 1/4" x 3/4" piece,
then just worked my way along, nailing and bending it as I went.

A closeup of the nailing on a butt rib.

The instructions suggested adding a brace between these
two pieces of wood to keep them standing perpendicular
to the plywood, but I didn't find that was necessary. You
can see the lines for the spars I drew on the plywood.
I cut these openings out with a chisel. During final
assembly, I will probably need to enlarge them slightly
to make room for the brackets that hold the wing to
the fuselage.

To speed along this process, I started a bunch of nails, then
worked my way along, pressing the stick in flush and
pounding that nail in, then moving to the next one.

Here's one aileron. The sheet of plans for the ailerons is complicated.
I think I got it right, though. After you're done, it doesn't seem so bad.
I'll add the butt ribs onto the ailerons after I get the hardware, as I'll
need to cut a hole in them for the "spigot." I don't even know what
is, but the plans reference it. I'm sure it will become clear after I get
the hardware (I think it must have to do with the hinge and tube that
rotates the ailerons). The wood kit didn't include 1/4" x 1/4" triangular
stock for the bracing in the corners where the rib is on either side of
the spar, but square stock should work just fine, and I had plenty
left over from the wing ribs. You can see these on the three ribs
along the aileron spar in this picture.

My pile of parts. This is all the ribs and the two ailerons.