Tail surfaces.

Just finished the final work on the tail surfaces. The control arms are added and all is hidden nicely from the outside.

Also, took the time to paint the trailing surfaces of the vertical fin and stab (where the hinges go) to match the green zinc chromate of the full scale.

Rudder lighting & first engine run

While waiting for the final coat of epoxy to dry, I took a look at the rudder nav light. I drilled a hole and did some digging-out of the internal balsa, and WA-LA!

These shots were both taken in the direct, early morning sun. Still shows up pretty well!

Also, I did the first run of the Brillelli 46cc engine that will hopefully power this beast. Not sure what to expect, it actually worked pretty well. With the help of my neighbor who I fly with (and also has this same engine) it took a couple dozen flips to get it primed, but after that it only took a few to start-up. It ran surprisingly well and required no adjustments from the factory settings. Now that I know it runs, and runs well, I’ll take it off the Christen Eagle and get it mounted.

Hinging the rudder.

Just worked up a simple rig to hold the rudder level.

Holes are all drilled and the hinges line up well.

The only thing that I’m going to have to do a bit of work on is the rear light. Granted, it wasn’t designed to take an actual light, but they couldn’t have placed that balsa brace in a worse way!