How do make a glider with balsa wood? i need help!!!!?

Question

How do make a glider with balsa wood? i need help!!!!?

Answer 1

You will need:  

1- 18 " 3/32 x 3" balsa

1- 12"  1/8"x 3/8" balsa

Modeling clay

Wood glue

Razor knife- like an X-acto

220 grit  sandpaper

Sanding block or flat block of wood

1.  Cut a 12 inch length of the 3/32 sheet.  Wrap some sandpaper around the block and sand the length into an airfoil shape.  Do this so the shape is constant along the whole length.  (basically round the top front edge for the first 1/4 inch and taper the back 2- 1/2 inches so it is very thin along the trailing edge)  This will be the wing

2.  Using something like a glass or cup as a guide, mark a rounded off corner on the 2 leading corners of  the wing. Cut these with the knife and sand them until they are both exactly the same.

3.  Mark a straight line exactly in the center of the wing.  Using a straight edge, carefully cut  the wing in half.

4.  Turn one half of the wing upside down.  Put  a 2 inch block under the tip and using your sanding block, carefully sand this angle onto the end you just cut.  Be careful not to make the wing shorter by sanding too much.  You want this angle to go just to the top of the wing.

5.Flip the half you sanded back over.  With the 2 inch block under the one tip glue the 2 halves of the wing back together.  This creates a dihedreal and makes your glider more stable

6.  While the glue dries cut 2 more pieces from the 3/32 sheet.  Cut these so the grain goes along the length.  Cut 1 piece 1"x2.5" and 1 piece 1"X 1.5 ".  Round the the tips of leading edge as you did with the wing tips.  Do this on both tips of the longer piece (horizontal stabilizer) and 1 tip of the shorter piece (vertical stablizer)

7. On the 1/8 x 3/8 stick make a mark 4 inches from one end.  On the long part mark a line that tapers to 1/8 inch at the end of  the stick.  Carefully cut this piece off. and sand the cut surface smooth.

8.  Glue the horizontal stabilizer to the top, non tapered part of  the 1/8" stick so it is centered on the very end of the narrow end.

9.  Glue the vertical stabilizer to the side of the 1/8 stick just in front of the horizontal stabilizer.  Trim off any part that extends below.

10.  Mark 2 inches back from the front of the 1/8 stick ( the part  you did not trim away)  After the glue is dry on the wing\carefully align the wing so it is centered, and the leading edge is 2 inches back from the nose.  Glue the wing in place here.  You can hold it in place with pins, but you want the wing angle to be even on both sides, so doing this carefully is crucial.  After the glue dries you can reinforce this joint with fillets of glue or small strips of paper.

11.  Balance your glider by marking 1 inch back from the leading edge of the wing.  Add bits of clay to the nose until it balances front to back here.

12.  Test fly by throwing gently as you would a dart.  If the glider dives  into the ground take off some clay.  If it swoops up, then stalls and dives into the ground add a little clay.  When the glider makes a  smooth steady flight it is done.

If you have other problems,  Unstability, corckscrewing or banking too sharp you messed up on the alignment and this  will be difficult to fix.