Andy Karmy's MiniMax Project

Got to have some Wings...

I had quite an assembly team building the ribs. The entire family pitched in and we had all of the wing ribs done in 2 days!

Lots of completed wing ribs laying out to dry!

Close-up of the joints on a rib.

Completed Wing Spars. The hardware is being trial fit. Yes I am building my own hardware and not using the pre built kit option.

Here are the wing spars ready for wing assembly.

This is the strut attach point on the spars.

Finally the first wing panel laid out and glued up. Notice the compression struts and drag members being installed.

Another view of the wing panel.

Here are the compression members that keep the spars separated in flight!

Aileron cross bracing structure. Notice how it attaches to both the top and bottom of the aileron spar.

Here is the Bracing from the other side after the nose sheeting is attached to the Aileron.

Wouldn't it be nice if the parts came dicut ready to use like this? Ok I guess it would make the kit cost twice what it does now, but what a load of work to fabricate all these parts.

Now it's time to prepare the leading edge sheeting for attachment. Notice it has been formed in the jig already. Here I have masked the glue lines and varnished the rest.

Look at that beautiful curved nose rib and sheeting! That jig really paid off here.

Here you can see the varnished interior structure before sheeting the box in. Also make sure to attach the wing hold down strap before closing it into the LE.

Nice clean joints with very little gap or irregularity between the pannels. (even I was supprised!)

Finally the finished product! Now I just have to pull about 300 staples!

Here is a view of the root end of the left wing. After gluing on the skins, but before pulling the staples.

After cutting off the Aileron you attach the wing trailing edge. This is what the fabric attaches to at the end of the wing before the Ailerons.

I ended up using a block plane to put the 45 deg bevel on the trailing edge strips. It worked best to do it before gluing them on.

The Aileron sheeting is installed much the same as the wing. It is nice that it is thinner plywood, but it is harder to position since it is so small. I built a jig to form the plywood just like the wing nose section.

I had quite an assembly team building the ribs. The entire family pitched in and we had all of the wing ribs done in 2 days!
Lots of completed wing ribs laying out to dry!
Close-up of the joints on a rib.
Completed Wing Spars. The hardware is being trial fit. Yes I am building my own hardware and not using the pre built kit option.
Here are the wing spars ready for wing assembly.
This is the strut attach point on the spars.
Finally the first wing panel laid out and glued up. Notice the compression struts and drag members being installed.
Another view of the wing panel.
Here are the compression members that keep the spars separated in flight!
Aileron cross bracing structure. Notice how it attaches to both the top and bottom of the aileron spar.
Here is the Bracing from the other side after the nose sheeting is attached to the Aileron.
Wouldn't it be nice if the parts came dicut ready to use like this? Ok I guess it would make the kit cost twice what it does now, but what a load of work to fabricate all these parts.
Now it's time to prepare the leading edge sheeting for attachment. Notice it has been formed in the jig already. Here I have masked the glue lines and varnished the rest.
Look at that beautiful curved nose rib and sheeting! That jig really paid off here.
Here you can see the varnished interior structure before sheeting the box in. Also make sure to attach the wing hold down strap before closing it into the LE.
Nice clean joints with very little gap or irregularity between the pannels. (even I was supprised!)
Finally the finished product! Now I just have to pull about 300 staples!
Here is a view of the root end of the left wing. After gluing on the skins, but before pulling the staples.
After cutting off the Aileron you attach the wing trailing edge. This is what the fabric attaches to at the end of the wing before the Ailerons.
I ended up using a block plane to put the 45 deg bevel on the trailing edge strips. It worked best to do it before gluing them on.
The Aileron sheeting is installed much the same as the wing. It is nice that it is thinner plywood, but it is harder to position since it is so small. I built a jig to form the plywood just like the wing nose section.