Halifax Electric Flyers Association

I built a Stevens-Aero SHAFT 25 kit back in the day, and thoroughly enjoyed it, however like most kits it had an "expiry date" on it..!

So when the opportunity came along a couple of years ago to obtain another kit from a local RC member, I jumped on it. (thanks Terry..!)
After "assembling" a few ARF's it was time to get back to smelling that laser cut balsa, and C/A-ing my fingers together..!

First pictures show the "kit"; the many laser cut sheets, the plans, detailed instruction sheets, wheels, hardware, and even a foam sanding pad, all neatly packaged. For those that have not had a kit from S/A, you are missing the work of a master kit maker, Bill Stevens, of Colorado, USA.

What is terrific about the S/A kits, is the attention to the laser cutting. As much as possible is laser cut, there are just TWO balsa 1/4" square sticks in the kit, each 24" long. That's it....everything else has been laser cut for you. And check out the lasering...we all know about "notches" and "tabs"...BUT, these parts are lasered like a jig-saw puzzle, such that the parts literally must be assembled by dropping the pieces vertically into each other. You can assemble the parts and BEFORE gluing, pick up the completed part..! Check out the tail feather pictures.

Now we move on to the Fuselage:

First step is to assemble the "crutch" ....all parts are lasered from 1/8" and 1/16" plywood.

..finished the Fuselage build tonight;

wing completion day.., April 13th.,

...this wing "kit" contains only TWO pieces of stock 1/4" square balsa, 24" long, that get cut to 21 13/16" each, for the leading edge.
Every other part has been laser cut. So it's just like assembling a puzzle.

..here are a few pics taken at various stages,

At the top of the table are several "sub assemblies" that get put together first. They are laser cut on 24" long sheets of balsa or thin ply, with "scarf" or "finger" joints that allow them to be glued end to end with a strong joint. Three Turbulators, two top and bottom spars plus a center web section (so you wind up with an I beam effect, and a husky trailing edge, are all done this way. So these got assembled last evening, so the wing could be completed today.

..and the completed wing, minas Ailerons,

This is an updated version of the Shaft25, since I built my first one several years ago. This one has the option of spitting the long Aileron into two sections to allow the use of Flaps. I plan to go with the long Aileron to start, but have the extra servo mounts installed for future use if flaps are installed. I'll hinge the long Aileron such that it can be cut into two pieces to incorporate Flaps if necessary.

..completed SHAFT 25 from Stevens-Aero, in the bones;

..ready to "Maiden" ..!