Covering test
I decided to stay with the old-school theme and cover the Chicken Hawk with silk span. The last time I used silk span was probably around 35 years ago on a glider I built. The process I remember involved attaching the dry silk span sheet to the wing surface with lacquer thinner, then wetting the sheet to get it to stretch, and finally applying a couple of Sanding Sealer coats to the covered wing. We used Sanding Sealer instead of Dope, probably because of price and availability. After searching the web and checking with my fellow club members, I found that the recommended process is not much different today then it was a few decades ago. I started with a test frame in order to get some practice and make sure I have the right materials. In general, the recommended process involves applying a few coats of Dope on the balsa surface you want to cover, then attaching and stretching a sheet of silk span. The sheet is fixed into place with some more Dope or thinner. There are many variations ...