ZNLine Factory Enigma Build by Mark Novack

It brings me pleasure to invite you to follow along with us at the ZNLine factory as we build up a flock of Enigmas for the upcoming contest season. After the last and hopefully final move for the Belgian factory, we have set up the tables and tools and have started production of prefabricated versions of ZNLine kits. Actually, prefabs have been available, but we are now striving to increase prefab production to meet demands. Anyway, lets get down to business and build an Enigma, ZN style. I shall update this regularly with photos until finished.

About the kit:
We always start with the Classic Kit (pre-sheeted surfaces/pre-cut controls/landing gear/wheel pants/all wood parts/stab mounting system). In this case, our customers have opted for full carbon options.

So, let's get started.
Step one (after inventory and inspection) is to join the wing. A flat surface is absolutely critical here. Our building tables are 3x3" steel square tube topped with 3" thick, non-warping hardwood. We lay the bottom wing saddles out and tape them together, carefully aligning all edges. We then lay out the wing halves, checking the mating surface for a perfect fit. We very gently sand any adjustments to the root to get a perfect joining fit. In five wing sets, only one needed any sanding at all to achieve a perfect center joint. We also mark the location of the servo wire tunnel exit. Here is a photo of the wings being layed together on the saddle and center joint checked.

Once satisfied with the fit, it's time to glue them together. Get the tape and weights and glue. We use 24 hour epoxy, but for this step, even five epoxy is fine. Apply the epoxy to the roots and join the wings. Use enough epoxy to get a nice even bond, but not so much that it oozes all over the place. Wipe the center joint, lay the wings into the bottom saddle and tape together. Weight each half against the saddle and place a moderate weight in the center. Here are two of the wings glued, taped, and weighted.

OK, the glue on the center joint is dry and we are ready to continue onto facing the leading edge. Remove the weights and tape and get the LE strips.  We use Titebond Wood Glue and plenty of masking tape. Nothing difficult here. Simply bevel the root side of the two LE pieces for a perfect center joint and ensure they run straight down the leading edge of the sheeted cores. Masking tape every 10cm will keep everything straight and ensure a perfect bond. It will take about two hours for the alphatic resin to dry.

Just allow the LE to overhang the wingtip for now.

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