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Now prepare the tail unit, D and E. D is 1 ft. 61/2 in. in length, and E is 1 ft. 3 in. Use split cane, which is about 1/4 in. thick. Make shallow grooves in the ends, and drill holes in them, 1/2 in. from each end. The bars are bowed in the manner described, using the dry heat method. The depth of the curves at the centre is about 2 in. Lay these bars on the wing crossbars to check that the curves correspond. Join the wing and tail bars together in pairs by means of struts, F. The struts for the wing are 6 in. in length, and those for the tail are 5 in. and all are cut from 1/8 in. X 1/4 in. strip-wood. The wing connecting struts are fixed 2 in. from the ends of the crossbars; the tail struts are fixed 3 in. from the ends of the crossbar D, and 1 in. from the ends of E. Bind them all securely in place on the underside of the crossbars.
Attach the wing and the tail units; the wing at a position where the top crossbar is 2 in. from the end of the backbone; and the tail where its bottom crossbar is 2 in. from the bottom end of the backbone. Glue small stripwood blocks to the backbone on the inside of the wing and the tail frame. Bind round these and the joints with fine string. Smear the binding with thin glue for stiffening. Note that the bow strings lie clear of the backbone on the underside of the framework.
Brace the framework with thin strong string. Thread a length through the hole which is 3/4 in. from the top end of the backbone,
and bind round and tie, leaving a 5 in. tail to the knot. Pass the string over the end of the backbone, and in turn, over the ends of the crossbars and bottom end of the backbone. Finish by bringing the string again over the top end of the backbone, and tie at the first knot. Secure the string in the grooves by means of cloth strips, glued over the ends of the framework.
Secondary bracing strings are added as follows. Tie a length at the bottom left-hand wing joint. Bring it down, loop round and tie at the top left-hand tail joint. Take it to the bottom wing-backbone joint, bind round and tie. From there take the string to the top right-hand tail joint, loop round and tie. Finish by binding round and tying at the bottom right-hand wing joint.
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