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How to Build a Canard Wing Aircraft

In aviation, a canard is a small wing attached to the front of an aircraft, forward of the main wings. Canards can take the place of rear stabilizers, or they can be a supplemental control surface to enhance an aircraft's handling. They are most commonly found on experimental airplanes, although there have also been tests on helicopters. You can easily make a toy canard-wing aircraft out of a balsa wood airplane kit.

Things You'll Need

Large balsa wood wing
Small balsa wood wing
Balsa wood rudder
Balsa wood fuselage
Plastic propeller
Wire and plastic wheels
Rubber band
Craft knife
Paper clips

Instructions

- 1
  Check that you have all the pieces of your balsa wood airplane kit. The best ones to experiment with are the basic rubber-band-powered airplanes that you can get for a dollar or two at toy or hobby stores.
- 2
  Cut a new slit in the fuselage for the rudder above the main wings. The fuselage piece is usually very thin, so cut carefully. Leave room on the fuselage piece for the engine attachment.
- 3
  Slide the main wings into place. Slide the elevators into place -- instead of rear stabilizers, they will become front-mounted canards as you are essentially turning the plane backward. Attach the propeller and wheels behind the main wing -- the former front of the plane.
- 4
  Insert the rudder above the main wings, facing the new forward.
- 5
  Unbend a paper clip and shape it into a metal skid. Press one end into the balsa wood fuselage, under the canard wings. Make sure the skid angles backward toward the engine.
- 6
  Attach a rubber band and wind the propeller so it will push the plane from behind instead of pulling it from the front.

Aviation