DISCOVERY JET
Construction - Session 1

Ahead - Session 2

Construction has started on my Discovery jet and I have to say that I am pretty excited about this jet. Even though some people might not like the overall looks of this jet, I think it will be great for what I want from a jet. Due to other engagements I am only able to attend about 3 or 4 jet events during the year. So I do most of my flying off a grass field and I wanted a jet that could handle that without any problems.

After receiving the wings from U Fly Hobbies the first task at hand was to cut out the channels for the landing gear former and wing spar. At first I thought I was going to be able to use a soldering gun with a 1/8" rod, but since the wing is so thick it did not work as well as I hoped. Luckily I only did about 1/2" with the soldering gun and I grabbed a hacksaw blade to finish the job. As you can see from the picture, the hacksaw blade does a fairly good job. I tapped down a piece of lite ply to act as a guide.

The first channel has been cut and the former pushed in place. The fit is very good and I think the hacksaw trick worked out very good.

Here I am cutting the other channel for the landing gear block. I added some weight to the end of the wing to help keep the wing stable while cutting the channel.

The second channel has been cut and I am almost done pushing the second landing gear former in place.

After the landing gear former were in place I traced out the area for the landing gear hardwood block. Using an Xacto knife I outlined the pattern I traced and proceeded to remove the foam. To remove the foam I just scrape it out with my finger and the Xacto blade.

One wing is almost done. The next step would be to cut out the channel for the wing spar. I made some alignment lines on the side of the wing to help note where the landing gear block should be after I sheet the wing with 3/32" balsa sheeting.

I repeated the process on the second wing and here you can see both wings together. This is a fairly thick airfoil and should be a strong wing once I'm done building it.

My wood pack is scheduled to arrive today and I hope to begin cutting out all the wood pieces I need to complete the Discovery jet. Stay tune!!!

Ahead - Session 2