Airspeed Tern**
Posted: 01 Mar 2017, 09:03
Way back in 1993 I built my first `scratch build ' an Airspeed Tern, l chose this because firstly it was a British glider and there being not too many good British gliders around, but also it looked an uncomplicated project. A bonus for me to all this was our good friend and mentor, John Watkins put me in touch with a lovely gentleman whose father flew it way back in the 1930's a man called Roger Reffel, and he kindly supplied me with some negatives and information for me to complete my build.
It proved to be a lovely model and flew really great, the only trouble was one day l hadn't checked the batteries, consequently when it came down the only bits l could find were the flying surfaces, the fuselage had smashed to pieces.
So to my new build thread, a new quarter scale `Tern', with a dual battery arrangement.
I build a top and bottom keel so to speak and just hold this all together with strips of scrap balsa before clamping this onto my jig and then attaching the formers, and so on.This keeps everything nice and straight ( providing the jig is straight) and allows me access all around the fuselage.when the formers and stringers are finished I can then remove the scrap strips of balsa.
The net curtains are for security, really ! . Its my shed , my wife has told me.
John
It proved to be a lovely model and flew really great, the only trouble was one day l hadn't checked the batteries, consequently when it came down the only bits l could find were the flying surfaces, the fuselage had smashed to pieces.
So to my new build thread, a new quarter scale `Tern', with a dual battery arrangement.
I build a top and bottom keel so to speak and just hold this all together with strips of scrap balsa before clamping this onto my jig and then attaching the formers, and so on.This keeps everything nice and straight ( providing the jig is straight) and allows me access all around the fuselage.when the formers and stringers are finished I can then remove the scrap strips of balsa.
The net curtains are for security, really ! . Its my shed , my wife has told me.
John