assembly sequence?

There is an interesting thread here about covering the wing before it is built into the fuselage and some others dealing with getting the wing saddle right.. There are also lots of pictures of planes under construction with the wing and fuselage in the jig at the same time obviously uncovered. I finally got around to building a jig that would hold the fuselage, wing, and tail all at the same time to help me get the alignments right. Do you guys build first then cover? or build the wing, cover, build the fuselage? Do you have a jig that allows covering the wing , then putting it back in the jig to align the fuselage, engine mount, tail, etc.? Incidently, my jig is a combination of my old "Adjusto Jig", the "Lincon Log" type jig and an adjustable fuselage jig so putting a covered wing back into it after covering is not possible.

There is a long ancient thread here someplace, contributed to by SSW's own Len himself, on this subject.

To paraphrase: cover first, then attach to fuselage. Otherwise it is Wing Fold City, after many flights (for Len), or not so many if you are unlucky.

The theory is that the covering will create a stress riser where it ends at the fuselage and covering the entire wing will eliminate the possibility of creating a stress point. I think it depends on the strength of the wing structure to weather it will fail or not.

Up until the last plane I built I have always covered after the wing was in the fuselage. However I typically do not build featherweight stunt ships. On the last plane I covered the wing first mainly because the wood I used was so light I was concerned about it's strength. Not really an answer is it....

You are talking "normal" wings, not I beameers. I always cover first to get the strength added by the covering. Except for I beam wings, which almost always are built into the fuselage before being covered. However, earlier this spring I saw my first I beam wing built outside of the fuselage. I assume it will be covered first then installed, and on that type wing it is important to cover it with the proper stuff.
Painting, installing flaps and a few other items should be much easier with the wing out of the fuselage. Think of it as a take apart. Now that's the way to go.

I've seldomed cover the wing first. As you note, it's a lot easier to get stuff straight if you build the wing, fuse and stab all togehter in a jig. This is what I've always done and with the last few planes being built entirely in a jig (with the current classic I-Beam plane being and exception---and I'm paying for it). If you have adequate structure in the center of the wing, I don't think it makes any difference. While I did have a plane blow up in heavy wind last year, the wing didn't fold. I've yet to have a wing fold, but then, I tend to reinforce the spar, LE and TE in the center before I sheet it. A bit of 1/64" ply can go a long way.

I always cover the wing first, but not because I fear the wing will fold if I don't. However, I find it a lot more convenient to cover and pre-finish the wing before mounting it.

You CAN come up with means for good alignment, even on wings that are already covered.

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"Modesty: the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it." -Ambrose Bierce

Larry,

Sure, it's just easier for me to do it all in the jig. I had a hell of a time keeping the stab straight on the I-beamer I'm just about done with. It was just easier to build the whole plane in the jig. As long as you keep unwanted stresses out of the structure as you're building it, it stays pretty much where you put it.

I build everything first and assemble - then seal and cover. No good reason, that's the way I learned how to do it too many years ago. I used to use my own alignment system - now I use Paul Walker's jigs.

I can just imagine myself covering everything, then trying to align and assemble the ship. As ham-fisted as I am, the covering would be in tatters before I was done.

You've already got the most important piece of the puzzle solved: alignment.

Have fun,

Ron King