wing spars for gloster gladiator

[Biggles]

hallo everyone,
i need some tips on making spars for my gloster gladiator, which has a wingspan of about 3"
i have tried wire,which pops out when i am putting the forward spars going from the fuselage to the top wing in.
all other progress going well on it.

    Biggles

[Peter]

Hello Biiggles,

How's Ginger doing? I'm a big fan of all the Biggles books. I am not experienced enough to offer advice on building your struts. But I would like to welcome you to the group. Please post some photos of your Gladiator if you can.

Peter

[Balsabasher]

Biggles when you say spars I think you mean struts ? right,lets run through this to make sure we are on the same wavelength,you are attempting to fit the upper wing to the fuselage by attaching it to the centre section struts,right this is what I would do,firstly forget wire its too rigid and difficult to work with at such small sizes,go to a dressmaking shop and buy a packet of the longest pins you can get hold of,make sure that these pins are not the hardened variety,ie you must be able to bend them,some pins are hardened and they are not suitable,take a pin and bend it into an inverted 'U' shape leaving enough surplus to be able to push it into the wood of the fuselage,the top part of the 'U' will be where the wing rests onto you can adjust this to suit the distance from the bottom of the wing to the top of the fuselage,now to take out the guesswork on setting up biplanes there is an easy solution,first glue the lower wing in place and then make some blocks of wood that are the right distance between the top surface of the lower wing and the lower surface of the upper wing,rest the top wing onto the blocks and take an elastic band and place this around the two wings trapping the block spacers in place so they do not move,now with a pair of pointed pliers grasp the pin centre section struts and push the sharp ends into the fuselage then once in place push upwards so the top of the inverted 'U' rests underneath the bottom of the top wing,now take some thin cyno adhesive and run this into the joints where the pins have been inserted into the fuselage,next turn the model upside down resting on the top wing and flood the top part of the 'U' where it makes contact with the wing,this should be sufficent to hold it until the next stage,now remove one block one side and fit the 'interplane' struts which can be small oval nails which have points filed either end,make a pin prick where the struts will go and ease into place,if they need adjustment take a bit off the nails with a small file,one in place flood again with thin cyno and move to the other side removing the spacer block and adding the struts between the wings ie the 'interplane' struts.

Whatever you do Biggles do not attempt to fit wings to a biplane by guesswork,you really do need a simple jig as suggested here,this is one of those situations where it is easier to do than fully explain things.
However if you follow my instructions then all will become apparent.

Best of luck,Barry,who has wrestled with a few struts in his time !

[Balsabasher]

These pictures may help you,here we can see the Gamecock minus the interplane struts,the centre section struts have been jigged up exactly as described above in a jig,the next picture shows the interplane struts eased into position prior to cladding out with popsicle sticks to make the full strut,so you can see it is done in two stages,centre section first then between the wings,as they say a picture is better than a thousand words !

Barry.

[Biggles]

hi barry,
thanks for the instructions, i will have a go!
and yes i do mean struts!
   
     biggles

[Balsabasher]

No problem Biggles,if you get stuck then get back we have the technology !
Barry.

[Biggles]

[Biggles]

Second photo of gloster gladiator and some of the classic jet fighter museum in Adelaide.

[Biggles]

Last of museum.
Some of my collection all made in 2013 thanks to SMM.
Biggles.

[Balsabasher]

Wonderful pictures Biggles and what a collection of aircraft ! the Gladiator will make a fine addition,another good material for cabane struts is brass tubing as it bends easily and can be soldered as well,with this you can drill small holes where the tubing goes and keep snipping off with side cutters to the required length in easy stages,by resting the upper wing in place and checking what is called the decalarge ( the sweep forward of the wings looking from the side of the fuselage ) you can do everything dry before applying the cyno ( superglue) to the joints,that is exactly as I did with the Gamecock,I like your little hand crafted projects,thats what it is all about.
Barry.

[Biggles]

Thanks Barry,
I will see if I can find some brass tube-the car is over the pit and we haven't been Abel to get to town!
Biggles

[Balsabasher]

Sometimes you can find it in hardware stores,or a model shop usually have metal rods and things in a display unit near the counter,buy some different sizes you will be amazed how useful it is.
Barry.

[Biggles]

thanks, i will have a look.
biggles

[lastvautour]

Biggles, Please ask Garet to set you up with a board of your own so you can post your build photos and photos of your finished creations. I will add your models to the 2013 construction photo section.

Lou
And welcome to the site. I see you joined last spring but I have just seen your first photos. Keep them coming.

[Biggles]

OK Lou, i will ask him.
Biggles