Anyone here build balsa planes and gliders? I'm working on a Stearman right now and hopefully will get some pics up soon. Post pics of your builds!

Pat, that sounds cool. I used to do the balsa thing a lot when I was younger. Looking forward to seeing your pics. Cheers Kevin

I've got a balsa Wright Flyer that I thought was pretty cool in the store, but I was too intimidated by the tissue glueing to get started on it. I'd love to read about how you take care of building yours. In progross shots would be excellent!

my granpas going out to buy one this fall. the ones you can fly around and stuff. probly a cessna. he used to pilot them around in the canadien wilderness.

Frank

My last balsa was an Albatross. It actually came out nice and flew really well. Haven't built one since. Good luck!

Sounds gerat, Pat. Looking forward to seeing your pictures

I used to fly balsa R/C gliders on occasions about 15 years ago or so. My father used to be an avid builder and flyer of R/C (radio control) planes and gliders, both scale and stunt aircraft. In fact, one of his less fortunate moments when flying is the inspiration for a diorama I'm currently working on.

He had misjudged the depth between his plane and a maintenance shed at the field where we used to fly and had torn the wings clean off his plane when it struck the shed, entering one window and the fuselage continuing through to exit out the window on the other side. It was a site I'll never forget. Tragic, yet darkly humorous at the same time (although I didn't dare laugh at the time.)

It earned him the nickname "Barnstormer" at the club we had belonged to. He has since learned to laugh about the crash and doesn't mind that that is what I'm going to call the diorama when it's finished.

It should be finished in a few weeks. I'm just finishing up sculpting the figures for it this week (120mm).

Steve

my dad built a balsa corsair when I was a kid, I remember him working on that thing for hours every night :-)

Ah!

I've built andhave designed a few balsa gliders myself. Both stick + tissue and solid balsa. I don't worry about the tisue as much as the frame though... I find that the most challenging part of the model. The tissue paper just takes too long,,, With te stick + tissue models, I usually stiffen the main spars with a thin coating of medium CA.Also for the tissue, to make it strong, I first spray on a little water onto the tissue with a spray bottle and let it dry (this tightens the tissue on the frame). After that Is finished drying I spray the whole plane with 2 thin layers of Matt finish. I try to avoid using the reccomended "dope" because it can ruin your brushes easily.

Rob

Whoa, didn't know there were so many guys here interested in it. I'll try and get some pics up tonight. I'm almost done the tail and now am working on the rudder. This thing is absolutely huge!