Chris’s SZD Cobra 17 under construction

By | March 12, 2020

1st instalment.

It all started back in 2017, when I saw a build thread on RC groups for a 1/3 scale SZD Cobra 17, the builder later posted on SSUK.  Having built the ASW 17, still waiting to maiden this one, thoughts came back to the Cobra, so drew up plans for the fuz and wings. The fuz is built in 2 halfs then stuck together. Half formers were cut out and screwed to the building board, then I cut up a lot of 3/16 balsa into 1/4 strips, and started planking. When the first half was removed, I fitted braces to keep its shape, repositioned the formers, and built the 2nd half. When removed, braces were fitted to this half also; the braces help when joining the 2 halfs together, giving a bigger surface area, to move around rather than a 3/16 edge. After joining, the fuz was sanded, and gave 3 coats of glass cloth, also 1 coat on the inside. When putting on the last coat, I added a colour pigment to the epoxy; 1, – to help when painting, 2, – when rubbing down to get a smooth finish, as if you lose the colour you have removed to much.

Chris

Check out some build photos in the gallery.

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