By Leslie | April 12, 2010
In our March newsletter, Don shares the progress he’s making as he’s building a Tiger Moth – a 1930s era-biplane. This is a “wind in your hair, bugs in your teeth” type plane! He’s currently working on the aileron – see the pictures – he loves doing this!
By Don | April 8, 2010
Many friends and clients know I’ve been slowly building a replica of a 1930’s era biplane called a Tiger Moth at a hangar at Camarillo airport.
3 wings are done and hanging in the rafters and I’m almost finished with the 4th – the lower right wing that has an aileron (controls the turns). I’ve just made the aluminum brackets for the pivots that the aileron will swing from. After double checking all the alignment Read the rest of this article »
By Don | May 2, 2009
Laying out for the leading edge.
During April, after installing the wing tip bow and the curved inner trailing edge piece, I started on wrapping the leading edge of the wing.
This is the 4th wing (of a bi-plane) and yet I’m somewhat nervous because this is 1/16″ Finnish plywood – very thin and yet very workable for this application.
I’ve previously installed the rounded nose caps that I’ll be wrapping the plywood over, and ultimately, it all gets covered in fabric – just like a 1930s era airplane.
So how’d it turn out? Check it out and see!
By Don | May 2, 2009
Wing tip bow finished
In my last report I mentioned how I had to re-do the wing tip bow. I wasn’t a happy camper. I’d epoxy’d that laminated, curved bow to those 2 extensions, but something had slipped and I used a heat gun to loosen the epoxy and then re-set the bow. It worked the second time, then I added the bracing and various small blocking pieces.
Then it was on to installing a curved, laminated piece at the trailing edge of the wing, next to the root. It’s strictly for looks, and will give a more pleasing sense to the eye when done.
Read on for more details!
By Don | March 5, 2009
I hadn’t worked on the Tiger Moth for several weeks and was getting antsy. But on Sunday afternoon I made it back out to Camarillo airport to continue working on attaching the wing tip bow, but when I looked closely at my previous work – arrrrhhh…!
I had carefully epoxy’d it to those triangular pieces off the main and rear spars, used bungee cords and clamps to secure it tightly, but… Read the rest of this article »
By Don | January 7, 2009
I was able to spend some “quality time” on the Tiger Moth over the Christmas holiday season. Work on the airplane generally comes in spurts, in increments of an hour or two – as you’ll see why. Read the rest of this article »
By Don | October 30, 2008
On a beautiful Saturday morning, a group of Boy Scouts from Camarillo worked on the lower right wing of the Tiger Moth.
Specifically, they installed the geodetic bracing on the upper side of the wing. Thanks guys for all your work!
By Don | June 18, 2008
Over the past 4 plus years, dozens of kids, family members of kids, friends and my own family have worked on the Tiger Moth. Here’s a quick snapshot of just some of them. Read the rest of this article »
By Don | June 18, 2008
The Tiger Moth wing now has its leading edge, but there’s still a lot more to do. The next step is to add the wing tip bow and all the inside bracing. Read the rest of this article »
By Don | June 18, 2008
On the Tiger Moth, I’ve had the students do the “gross” or production work, but I do the “fine” or detail type work. So now that we’ve got the basic wing structure done, it’s time to add the rounded leading edge of the wing. Read the rest of this article »