Luigi Aldini

To bend the plywood we used a very easy system composed by a wood box with openings for steam. Steam enters from below, and it fills the box so that the plywood becomes wet. At the top of the box we used a round steel rod to give the plywood the curve of the leading edge.

Here Marco, my 12 year old son, is bending the plywood with the help of some clamps and a wood ruler to hold the plywood in position. The plywood needs to be put in the box for being curved and then raised out.

This is the moment of applying the plywood to the wing, so that it will take the right curve. We used nails to fix the plywood to the ribs.

When you need to join the plywood it's necessary to make a 1:15 scarf. This system uses a sanding machine that proved to be useful.

Sanding the scarf joint.