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Bob's Card Models

www.bobscardmodels.altervista.org and www.zealot.com [Resources]

Sikorsky S-40 (1:72)

The Sikorsky S-40 was an American amphibious flying boat built by Sikorsky in the early 1930s for Pan
American World Airways. It was the largest commercial airliner of its time. A total of three aircraft were built by
the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Corporation in Stratford, Connecticut. All three
were retired from service during World War II. The first passenger carrying service was on the November 19,
1931 and was piloted by Charles Lindbergh from Miami, Florida to the Panama Canal Zone. The S-40 was the
first of many aircraft known as Flying Clipper and Pan Am Clipper.
The S-40 was nicknamed the "Flying Forest" for its maze of support struts.

Specifications
General characteristics
Crew: four
Capacity: 40 passengers
Length: 76 ft 8 in (23.37 m)
Wingspan: 114 ft 0 in (34.76 m)
Height: 23 ft 10 in (7.27 m)
Wing area: 1,875 ft² (174.3 m²)
Empty: 24,748 lb (11,249 kg)
Loaded: 34,000 lb (15,455 kg)
Maximum takeoff: lb ( kg)
Powerplant: 4x Pratt & Whitney R-1690 radial engines, 575 hp (429 kW) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 135 mph (217 km/h)
Range: 875 miles (1,408 km)
Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (3,963 m)
Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
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Wing loading: 18 lb/ft² (89 kg/m²)
Power/Mass: 0.07 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg)

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Building Instructions
Print all sheets on between 160 and 230g card, except Instructions and Sheets 10 and 11 which should be
printed on 80 - 90g Paper.
Always carefully fit parts together before gluing, and make minor adjustments if necessary.
Bright Green areas must be cut out, BUT only after gluing any folds. The Instructions will tell you when!
Although the model is relatively small, bulkheads have also been used to keep the correct cross-sectional form of
the fuselage.

Thanks, for providing the excellent 3-D views, to : "l'encyclopédie illustrée de l'Aviation" No. 127, and
to http://www.airwar.ru/other/draw/a5m2.html for their free solid model plans.

NOTE: When gluing on wings, tailplane and part 5A, make sure that they are exactly in line with the cockpit.
Use elastic bands until the glue is dry.

Fuselage
1. Cut out 3, bend the 2 sides (hull) to give the correct cross-section, round the form and especially the
hull, glue on the long tab (which has been bent longitudinally to a V-form), and when dry, close/glue
the form.
2. Insert bulkhead E (with centre pierced) through the front of 3 (side with black area facing to the rear),
all the way through until flush with the rear, snipping off bits of E to a accommodate if necessary, and
tack/glue.
3. In part 3, cut out the 2 slits above the foremost windows, and insert a waste piece of card as a stop when
inserting bulkhead D........
4. Insert/glue-tack D (with centre pierced) in the front of 3. Push so far as it comes in contact with the card
waste strips. When dry, remove the waste strips.
5. Cut out 2, bend the 2 sides (hull) to give the correct cross-section, round the form and especially the
hull, glue on the long tab (which has been bent longitudinally to a V-form), and when dry, glue around
the tabs of 3 as well as the long tab to close form.
6. At the rear end of 2, insert/glue-tack C (with centre pierced) in place so that it is flush (black portion
pointing to the rear).
7. Insert bulkhead B (with centre pierced) through the front of 2 at about 5-10mm depth from the front of
the part (do not force bulkhead, must sit loosely), tack/glue in place.
8. Glue together 2 and 3. If the tabs on 2 are a bit too long (pressing on bulkhead D), shorten.
9. Cut out 4 - 7. Round 4 to give the correct profile, add on 5 and 6 after bending their tabs 45°, and end
tab of 5 to 180°.
10. Slight fold/round 7 and glue onto 4/5/6 (first one side, when glue dry, then the other side), and glue the
unit onto the tabs of 3, noting the step in the hull.
11. Cut out 8A-E, bend tabs 45° excepting the grey-coloured tabs which are bent 90°.
12. Glue 8B onto 8C. Glue 8A onto 8E, 8D to 8C, 8A to 8B so that the rear of 8A is flush with the rear of
8B.
13. Close/glue form.
14. Cut out windows 1, bend in the middle, bend tabs upwards except the side tabs (coloured grey).
15. Glue the tabs of 1 onto the inside of 8C.
16. Glue the unit 8A-E / 1 in place on the front of 2.
17. Cut out, fold, glue 9 on the top of the fuselage, starting from just above the cockpit windows.
18. Cut out green area on top and rear of 4.

Wings
19. Cut out both wings 10, fold, bend tabs, glue each, then join ....
20. Cut out the Wing Join 11, fold (round) the leading edge, then glue on the 3 Form Members 11A as
shown in the photo, glue the top edge of each member, close form.
21. Glue one half of the Wing Join and insert in one of the wings; when dry, glue the other half and insert in
the other wing. NOTE: the lower edge of the Form Members is curved - whilst the glue dries, hold in
place gently with the fingers.
22. Cut out the 2 green slits in the wing (upper and lower sides) - ready for insertion later of the horizontal
stabilisers 29.

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Engines (4)
23. Cut out 12, close form by gluing tab. Cut out a paper black strip 12B and glue on the inside of 12. Snip
both sides along tiny lines (even better, cut out a tiny wedge in each case).
24. Cut out 13, form to a flat pyramid, glue tab.
25. Cut out 14, round and close/glue form.
26. Cut out 15, make 3x thick by gluing on waste card, pierce centre to accommodate a tooth-pick, then
Insert in 14 as far as it will go, with glue on the rim.
27. Glue 13 in place, on 14.
28. Part 12: bend down the 'sniplets of one side, glue on the inside. When dry, insert from the rear of
13/14 , bend down the front 'sniplets, glue.
29. Pierce the 2 green dots 'e' on each engine, enlarge with a tooth-pick to about 1-2mm diameter, cut out
the 2 green slits.

Struts (all green dots must be pierced before mounting, ready to receive the cotton ‘cables’)
30. Cut out the 2 main horizontal struts 16, fold length-wise along the 3 dotted lines to give 4x thickness,
glue - but only the rear of the grey strips, so that a space remains for later insertion of the tabs of the
slanting struts. Press on a flat surface with a ruler, to ensure good adhesion, and a straight strut.
31. Insert the 2 horizontal struts in place, through the 2 green slits (cut out) above the 4th and 7th windows of
the fuselage and glue in place.
32. Cut out the 4 slanting struts 17 and fold/glue as in 29. above; this time, all the inside surfaces can be
glued.
33. Put a dab of glue on the tabs at one end of a slanting strut, and insert IN the end of a main horizontal
strut; whilst the glue dries, bend up to an angle of ABOUT 45° and glue on position marked "a" on wing
underside. Repeat with the 3 remaining slanting struts.
34. Cut, fold, bend all tabs outwards, and glue the 4 Main Engine Spars 18 (outer, front and rear), in 2 of
them insert the engines (glue in the marked place on the spars with the 2 green dots 'e' UPPERMOST),
and glue in blue rectangle position marked "c".
35. Likewise the 4 Main Engine Spars 19 (inner), and glue in blue rectangle position marked "d".
36. Cut out, roll the V- Struts for the engines 20, roll/glue around a long pin, extract pin. Bend in the middle
to a V, and glue the 2 arms in place in the engine housing at positions "e" (pierce beforehand), and the
V-bend at position "c".
37. The rear struts 21 are only half-length as otherwise they would be too long to roll around a pin. Cut
them out, roll around a pin, glue, extract pin, flatten each end about 5mm, then glue in position on the
engine housings at positions marked "f", and to the top of the rear vertical struts 18 and 19.
38. Cut out the 4 Tie Spars 23, roll around a tooth-pick and glue. Snip each (after flattening the tube a bit)
end about 2mm to give 2 tabs at each end - bend these back 90°, and glue in place joining the middle of
17 to the wing. Make sure the spars are parallel to the struts 18.
39. Cut out the 4 Tie Spars 22, roll around a tooth-pick and glue. Extract tooth-pick, flatten each end about
5mm. Glue 2 of the spars in position joining the extremities of the main horizontal struts 16, and the
other 2 to join the base of the front and rear Tie Spars 23.

Propellers
40. Cut out, fold, glue, cut out the propellers 24 and their respective Nose Cones 25. Glue the props each
on a tooth-pick, glue on the Nose Cones. Insert in the engine after cutting the tooth-pick to an adequate
length. (NOTE: Best to insert the propeller units during the last stage of construction, otherwise they
will get in the way, and perhaps become damages).

Tailplane
40. Cut out tailplane 26, fold main tab and the 2 halves, and cut out the green areas. Do not glue yet!
41. Cut out the 4 fins 27. Fold the 2 halves and the main tab, and fold UP the small tabs. Glue the main tab
and close the form. Do not yet glue the tops of each fin together.
42. Insert the 4 fins in their positions in 26, and glue their small tabs to the inside of the tailplane.
43. Glue/close the 2 wing halves.
44. Through the top of one set of fins, insert the stabiliser 28, but it is not necessary to glue it in place.
Close/glue the tops of each fin.
45. Repeat for the other set of fins.
46. Cut out the 2 horizontal stabilisers 29, fold, insert packing (or better: insert a thin barbecue stick in
each), close/glue.
47. Glue onto horizontal stabiliser of tailplane in the 2 green slits previously cut out. Cut out support 30,
roll/glue around long toothpick or rod of 2-3mm diameter, extract toothpick, flatten, cut 2 x 3mm long
slits in each end, bend to a V-form, and glue in place (the V in the green cut-out slit at the rear of 4, and
the 2 other ends on the underside of each part 29, so that the stabilisers 29 are parallel to the middle-
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 line of the fuselage). Glue the tabs of horizontal stabiliser 30A to join the 2 V-ends of part 30, and 30B
half-way down, inside the V-strut. NOTE: There are actually 2 parts 30A - place one exactly above the
other, with about 3-5mm space between the 2.
48. Glue the front ends of the horizontal stabilisers 29 to the cut-out positions of the main wing.

Undercarriage
49. Rear Wheels: cut out and roll/glue tyre 31. Pierce centre. Glue a wheel cap 32 on each side. Pierce
centre.

50. Cut out and roll/glue vertical strut 33 so that about 5mm of the tooth-pick point protrudes. Cut the other
end so that 1mm protrudes.
51. Cut out rear wheel cover 34, pierce centre, fold, insert in pointed end of 33 and insert/glue pointed end
in the rim of the wheel in which a small hole has been drilled/cut.
52. Glue the ends of 34 to the centre of the wheel caps. Glue the other end of the toothpick on the rear of
the fuselage (part 7).
53. Add left and right of the fuselage, parts 35. Glue in position on the fuselage and on the wheel covers
34.
54. Main undercarriage: form a V with 2 toothpicks, and glue the join (see Sheet 11 diagram). When
glue is hard, add 2 sleeves 36 to the Wheel Main Struts 37. Repeat for the other side. Insert each in the
positions marked (green, cut out) and glue in place. The necessary angles are shown on Sheet 11.
55. Cut out the 2 (left and right) vertical supports 38 to the undercarriage, glue around a toothpick, and
when dry, bend ca. 80-90° by cracking the tooth pick at the white line. Glue in place - top end inside the
slit marked "38" on top of the fuselage, bottom ends on the inside of the Wheel covers, joining part 37.
56. Add the wheels 43 and glue these in place with a dob of glue. Add the wheel caps 43A.

Floats
57. Cut out the 2 floats 39. Bend to form. Slightly bend all tabs, then glue tabs in the following order - a, b,
c, d , e. Insert the 3x thickness bulkhead to preserve profile. Cut out all green slits (for the spars).
Option: omit the Bulkhead if no difficulty is encountered in forming the correct cross-section of the
floats.
58. Add the struts: Cut out 2 of the struts 40 and roll/glue each around a tooth-pick. Remove toothpick,
flatten. Bend in the middle to a V-form, insert/glue in position (inverted V) on top of the float in the
positions marked on the top of the float at the front, and at the rear. Repeat for the other float. Add a dob
of glue on the top of the inverted V, and hold in position until dry. Add the inclined struts 41, insert the
tabbed end into the float, and when dry, put a dob of glue on the other end and glue to the underside end
of the main struts 16.

Aerial
59. Add aerial 42 just above cockpit.
60. Assemble the Stand 44 if desired.
Rigging
Some of the rigging (cables) has been attached and purists may say that some or other cable is missing.I have
absolutely no objection to additional rigging, but I added only the main ones.
I use cotton-coated rubber to give an elasticity. Use under minimal tension, just enough to prevent sag.

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