(Build the Meat Tray Flyer... pg 3)
FUSELAGE CONSTRUCTION
For the fuselage you need a "boom."
I cut a piece of pine 21”
long by 1/4” by 3/8”.
You could use a dowel rod, a carbon rod, an arrow
shaft, or whatever. However, the following instructions
assume the boom dimensions I just described.
Next comes the fuse pod, which is made from cross-grained
laminations of balsa. The center section is cut
from 1/4" sheet, and the outer four sections
from 1/32" sheet. Note that the outer sections
must extend 3/8" lower than the center section,
so that they lap over each side of the fuselage
boom. Study the diagram and the photo below before
cutting out the pieces (don't forget about cross
graining).
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After your fuse pod is assembled, you can mount
it to the boom. The diagram below shows what position
to glue it in.
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Now a little structure is built on top of the
pod for wing attachment. Start by cutting two
pieces of dowel 1 3/8" long
each. Then cut grooves at front and rear of the
pod to accept the dowels. Epoxy the dowels in
place. About half their lengths should extend
out of the pod to accept the rubber bands that
will hold down the wing.
Next, cut two wing support pads (1 3/4"
x 1" x
1/8") from hard balsa. Glue these
in place as shown in the photo below, and make
sure they are exactly square to the sides of the
pod.
Last step is to add some 1/8" thick sheet
balsa fill between the support pads, as shown
in the photo.
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The gearbox of the GWS IPS-S1 motor has a
hole to allow mounting onto a "motor
stick." Carve down the front 1"
of the boom until the motor fits on it snugly.
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Measure the distance from the rear of the motor
to the front of the fuse pod. Cut two pieces that
length from the same 1/4" x 3/8" wood
used to make the boom. Glue these in place on
both sides of the boom to create a "shelf"
between the motor and fuse pod. Then "cap"
the top of the shelf with a piece of 1/32"
ply. Another 1/32" plywood "cap"
goes on the bottom of the tray, but this one should
extend back to about the middle of the fuse pod.
Make sure this lower "cap" doesn't interfere
with the motor at all. After you’re done
painting you’ll put Velcro
on both those pieces of ply. The battery will
attach to the top, and the speed control and receiver
will attach to the bottom.
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At this point you can paint your fuselage, if you
wish (although it's not necessary). Leave the wood
bare at the rear top and bottom of the boom, where
the vertical and horizontal fins will mount. In
fact, these tail pieces can be glued in place once
the paint is dry.
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The horizontal fin & stab attach to the
bottom of the boom. The stab itself extends
past the boom's end so it is free to hinge
up and down. The vertical fin & rudder
attach to the top of the boom. Make sure the
tail pieces are square to the fuse and to
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LANDING GEAR
The landing gear mounts just at the rear of the
battery shelf. The easiest approach is probably
to bend some music wire, tie it down with thread,
and epoxy it in place. Or you can save a little
weight and do it the way I did, using
2mm carbon rod. I drilled some angled
holes into the bottom rear of the battery plate
and epoxied the rods in. To mount the wheels I
needed to attach wire extensions to these rods.
These were secured with shrink tubing and Cya
glue.
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Here's what my "Meat Tray" looked like
before the radio gear was installed...
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