I ordered a Chrysalis...I would like to build it, so that it can fit in a 'travel box

I read with interest the article on 'removable' V-tails - especially the feature htat allowed them to fold up. I would also like to make the wings two piece, so the entire plane can fit in a box the length of the fuselage. Has anyone out there done anything like this?

From : Don Stackhouse

Brian, the stock Chrysalis wing is difficult to convert to two-piece as-is, so we designed an option kit with a re-engineered wing root (some structural changes plus some airfoil alterations, the standard airfoil doesn't have enough room) to provide this feature. Give us a call and we can fix you up with one. It's easy to do, you just substitute the parts in the option package for a few of the parts in the kit, and alter the assembly procedure slightly per the instructions in the option package. There is almost no weight penalty. However, you do need to get the option package BEFORE you start building the wing.

As for a removeable tail, I'd recommend glassing the stabs together at the root per steps 15 through 18. Make 2 pieces of 1/32" plywood 1" wide by 3" long, with the outside grain running parallel to the 1" dimension, and another piece about 3/8" wide by 3" long. Lay some waxed paper over the outside of the dihedral joint in the tail, then c/a the two 1" wide pieces of ply together on top of that. Reinforce the joint between the ply pieces with a narrow strip of glass tape and epoxy or thin c/a. You've just made a saddle for your tail to sit in.

When you get to step 35 (mounting the tail to the fuselage), use the tail and saddle together (for more precise alignment), but only glue the saddle to the fuselage (it might be a good idea to keep the waxed paper between the saddle and the stabs, so you don't accidentally make the stabs "non-removeable"). Put the balsa filler piece in the "V" of the stabs, and glue the 3/8" wide piece of ply to the bottom of the tail boom underneath the tail. Now drill clearance holes for a pair of 2-56 screws down through the filler block, stabs, saddle and fuselage bottom. Make the first on about 1/2" behind the stab leading edge, and the second one about 1.5" aft of the first one. Now harden the balsa in the filler block around the holes with thin c/a, then install a pair of 2-56 blind nuts in the holes. You can now put a pair of 2-56 screws up from the bottom of the fuselage to bolt the tail on.

You will need to put clevises at the aft ends of the pushrods so you an disconnect them for tail removal. as an alternative, instead of z-bends in the pushrods, just bend the ends 90 degrees, but leave them long enough that they can't come loose from the control horns by them selves with the tail attached, but you can slip them off sideways once the stabs are un-bolted.

Don Stackhouse
DJ Aerotech