Making leadouts for the Son of Snort

This site was last updated on February 15, 2008.

For aerodynamic cleanliness, the SoS uses an internal bellcrank, shutoff, and leadouts (versus mounting all this outside the wing). This little essay illustrates the jig Howard uses to melt the leadout holes.

Howard uses part of the wing shuck as a cradle. The plywood parts on either end will keep the wing from shifting. The wooden blocks have holes drilled in them to guide the melting rod (a 3-foot length of 1/8" music wire).

Here's the wing, sitting in place.

Here you can see Howard feeding the rod into the aft hole guide.

Here you can see the business end of the melting rod protruding from the front guide block. Notice how far back Howard likes to place his leadouts.

Here's the torch in place. Note the little plywood heat shield that protects the foam from the brass tip of the torch.

Be careful not to melt the wing!

In this picture, you can see clearly the holes in each block where the rod is inserted. Also notice the shims under each block, used to adjust the aim of the rod.