Andre du Plessis

17 August 2026.

I have completed the rigging of the tail section, and it was not easy – but it is done. I took some time to get the undercarriage assembled, and it is now on the Camel, but without its rigging – that can wait a bit. Now for the MAJOR mission, getting the main rigging between the wings done. This is in fact a huge problem. The instructions have no advice on how to do this, and with the struts configured as they are there is nothing that prevents the top wing from being too far forward, too far back, or skew. After much thought and contemplation I realised that the best way to tackle this assembly is to make a jig so I can mount the struts in the right orientation and angle. (I am working off actual, old, plans of the Camel). Easier said than done! I discovered that at the right position, for the top wing to be accurate, the strut lengths will cause the top wing to bow. So out with my knife and I did some surgery. The struts themselves also revealed another glaring fault. The locating holes on the fuselage, where the inner struts are supposed to fit in, do not work. The locating pins in the struts are moulded at least 90 degrees wrong, they do not fit into the holes at all. Some more surgery! So up to now I have all the struts in position. The next challenge is the actual rigging. Now where did I put my medication?