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Strengthening the Rudder.

To ensure rigidity the rudder must be stayed with guy wires. For this purpose the No. 12 piano wire is the best. Begin by running two of these wires from the top eye-bolts of stanchions 3 and 4, page 37, to rudder beam where it joins the rudder planes, fastening them at the bottom. Then run two wires from the top of the rudder beam at the same point, to the bottom eye-bolts of the same stanchions. This will give you four diagonal wires reaching from the rudder beam to the top and bottom planes of the glider. Now, from the outer

ends of the rudder frame run four similar diagonal wires to the end of the rudder beam where it rests on the cross piece. You will then have eight truss wires strengthening the connection of the rudder to the main body of the glider.

The framework of the rudder planes is then to be braced in the same way, which will take eight more wires, four for each rudder plane. All the wires are to be connected at one end with turn-buckles so the tension may be regulated as desired.

In forming the rudder frame it will be well to mortise the corners, tack them together with small nails, and then put in a corner brace in the inside of each joint. In doing this bear in mind that the material to be thus fastened is light, and consequently the lightest of nails, screws, bolts and corner pieces, etc., is necessary.