Build Articles
K & A - ME-163
By Markos Okihisa
October 15, 2005 - 02:13:17 PM

01 - Here's how the K & A ME-163 comes to you.	02 - The pre-primed fiberglass fuse is well done and very clean.	03 - There is very little work that needs to be done on the fuse. I did spot putty a few tiny holes, took only a few minutes at most.
04 - I lightly sanded the fuse with a 400 grit sanding block after the spot putty work. She's nice and smooth now	05 - I used a dremel tool with a small grinding bit to rough out the hole for the rear windows.	06 - Now it is ready for me to use a couple of small hand files to clean up the grinding work to the windows lines built into the fuse.
07 - After a little bit of filing, the window holes on both sides of the fuse are all cleaned up.	08 - I epoxied the supplied leading edges to the front leading edge of the wing. Taped them up and let them dry.	09 - I took special care to make sure the excess material on the leading edge block was equal on both the top and bottom of the wing.
10 - Using a profile sanding block, I simply sanded down the leading edge block to match the profile shown in the instruction manual supplied with the kit.	11 - I took special care to make sure that both wings had the exact same shape and profile on the leading edge. As usual, the first wing is the easy one, the second took a little extra time and care to match up with.	12 - The kit from K & A comes supplied with a vacuformed set of wing tips. Very nice and clean.
13 - Using a hobby knife and a sanding block I finished up the wing tip blocks. Checked for fit with the wings and they looked nice.	14 - The vacuformed wing tips should work just fine, but I like sanding and building so I decided to simply take a piece of scrap balsa and block up my own wing tips.	15 - After about 15 minutes of sanding, I finished up both wing tips and matched them up on both left and right wings. Keep in mind this is just a personal preference, the vacuformed wing tips would have worked just fine.
16 - Next following the diagram on the instructions supplied, I simply marked out the lines for the ailerons. I put both sides of the wing up against each other just to make sure they lined up properly.	17 - Using a new blade, I cut out the ailerons on both sides of the wing.	18 - Next I followed the instructions and simply started to block up the inside of the ailerons gap on the wing using epoxy. This should give the hinges a good firm place to hold on to.
19 - I trimmed down the ailerons that I cut out and blocked up the sides on them also. Just remember to measure twice, cut once. If all goes well they should line up an fit nicely into the aileron.	20 - Just be sure to do the same on both sides of the wings, making sure that there is adequate space for the aileron moves freely without binding.	21 - I used the two pieces of light ply supplied with the kit and traced the shape of each wing root onto the plywood. I took a second to label wing roots and wings.
22 - I took care to make the wing root shape as close and accurately as possible. Then using a small saw I removed as much excess material as possible up to the profile of the wing root.	23 - It took a little time, but I also used 400 grit sand paper to sand down the plywood as close to the shape of the wing root as possible.	24 - Next I marked out a square on the bottom of the wing. I used the following measurements (1.25" x 1".) I used the trailing edge and aileron edges for reference, the bottom of the square is exactly 1" from the inside of the aileron hinge.
25 - You can see the measurements here more closely, this will all be covered over when I glass and paint the wing.	26 - I next removed the balsa square using a sharp knife and removed the foam underneath carefully taking care not to damage the top of the wing sheeting you now see exposed.	27 - Duplicate steps number (24 through 26) on the other wing.
28 - Using tape, not glue temporarily attach the plywood to the inside of the wings making sure that they are lined up carefully. I used enough tape to insure they plywood would not move or shift.	29 - Using a drill bit large enough to allow the servo wires to pass through, but not too large that it could damage the pre-sheeted wings I drew some guide lines and drilled from the root to the servo tray.	30 - Be sure to locate the four pieces of ply and the four dowels.
31 - I went ahead and drilled two smaller holes on each wing root plywood. I simply eye balled the location of these holes as the plywood will act as a template on both the fuse and wing. Just be sure not to mix up the right wing plywood with the left when doing this.	32 - Since I only used tape to hold the plywood in place on the fuse, I was able to easily remove it, revealing the three holes. One for the servo wires, two for the dowels.	33 - Using the proper size drill bit, I drilled a hole through the center of the four small square plywood pieces. The holes should fit the dowls. I then used epoxy to glue the plywood to the root of each wing making sure to match the right plywood to right wing and so on.
34 - After the epoxy dries, you should be able to remove the tape revealing a well placed and aligned wing root covered with plywood. The wings are now ready to fiberglass.	35 - Be sure to use some epoxy to glue the dowels into the small square plywood pieces. These will act as anchors from the inside of the fuse to hold the wings onto the fuse. Be sure to use enough epoxy to create a strong bond and keep the dowels perpendicular to the base.	36 - Using the pin I just created, I carefully epoxied them to the inside of the fuse through the front and rear holes. I took special care to make sure they were perpendicular to the side of the fuse and level. Once dry, I then attached the right and left wings using epoxy and blocked them up level with the fuse and let dry overnight.
37 - Once the epoxy was dry, I removed the blocks and took a second to enjoy the view of the ME-163 with wings on.	38 - I next found the square pieces of light ply and created the rear trailing edge next to the fuse. The instruction manual that comes with the kit has a diagram showing the shape.	39 - I next attached the pieces to the wing and fuse using epoxy. Once dry I did a little light sanding to feather the wing into these pieces giving them a nice smooth transition.
40 - I cut some 1/2 oz. fiberglass cloth and laminated the glass to the wing. I used 30 minute epoxy to do this. I use an old tried and true method of mixing 1/3 resin to 1/3 harder to 1/3 denatured alcohol. Using this almost water like mixture, I simply brushed it onto the glass allowing it to penitrate and bond the glass to the wing. After about 10 minutes, I applied a 2nd coat and 10 minutes more a 3rd coat.	41 - I applied the glass with about 1/4" overlap onto the wing filet of the fuse. It's probably not necessary, but I wanted to make a very smooth transition from the wing to the fuse without and noticeable lines where the wing joins the fuse.	42 - After the glass was dry, I applied a little bit of tape on the edge of the wing and sanded down the 1/4" overlap to make it as seamless as possible. Note: This is all just minor changes I am making to the kit. One of the nice things about the kits from K & A is there is just enough building to allow for some fun and minor custom changes.
43 - I next glassed the bottom of the wing using the same method I used for the top.	44 - Once the glass was dry, I trimmed away all the excess glass and sanded the glass using 400 grit sandpaper.	45 - After sanding both the top and bottom wing with 400 grit sandpaper and getting the surface as smooth as possible without breaking through the glass to the balsa sheeting. I hit the entire plane with a little bit of primer.
46 - I then sanded almost 99% of all the primer off making sure that the primer filled some of the low spots and fiberglass weave.	47 - I turned around and hit the entire plane with primer again and sanded almost all of it off again. It seems like a lot of work, but the finish should be worth it. Also, as tempting as it is to leave all that primer on, it's all extra weight, something this plane can do without.	48 - Next I we sanded the entire plane leaving a thin coat of primer and wiped the entire fuse down with denatured alcohol to remove any oils, dust and reside. She's now ready for a little bit of color.
49 - One coat of enamel flat red paint. I opted to leave the nose cone on for now as I wanted to fly this as a slope glider first. I would ordinarily put the decals on and hit the entire plane with some flat clear coat but I plan to change the ME-163 into a brushless 400 can prop plane eventually so no point in doing too much on the finish right now.	50 - Just another picture of the ME-163 from different angle. The time I put in with the sanding and priming paid off. I also was happy with the way the wings blend into the fuse without any visible seams. I plan to put some panel lines on her later and the seam would have been in the wrong place had I not smoothed it out.	NOTE: Work in progress, to be continued...