skaliwag

My Feedback: (1)

What do you use for the hinges on control surfaces (Elevator, Rudder, Aileron) made of 1/16 material.. (Pictures tell a thousand words)

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

What's wrong man, can't you slit that 1/16th balsa?

Mooney_driver

Pictures might tell a 1000 words but there were no pictures!

In the old days they used cloth hinges.

skaliwag

My Feedback: (1)

CP... I don't see like I used to. and them #11's are sharp.


Moony Man.... Pictures might tell a 1000 words but there were no pictures! That's why they did a lot of lips flappin" . Melville or Tolstoy could have made their lives easier , saved a lot of trees and made many reluctant student lives a lot easier with a Kodak.

icerinkdad

I have done sewn hinges, cloth hinges and iron on hinges in 1/16th. For sewn you have to be careful to not crush the wood with the the carpet thread. For cloth use thin fabric (mama got an old pair of panties she no longer wants?), and iron on use the same iron on plastic finish that you might be doing the plane in...

Mr. Mugen

I use old floppy discs and cut them apart and use the actual disc inside cut into small slits. Work great for me. Just an idea...

Kevin

Raymond LeFlyr

My Feedback: (2)

I had an epiphany a couple of years ago. I was slicing up some hard 1/16th balsa for an elevator and suddenly I saw a bright light and I could have sworn I heard the flutter of wings. Then there was this voice that seemed to come from afar - but still like it was from within my head. Weird. It said, "cutteth not no longer no how 1/16 unto the end of times - but think ye on the value of but one thirthy-second more."for thine own 1/2A tail sections.

Well, you could have knnocked me over with 6x3 prop. Quckly I whipped out my slide rule, always handy decimal conversion table, and added 1/32 to 1/16 - answer was 3/32. Hence forth and for ever if a design calls for 1/16 rudder or elevator, I substitute 3/32 into slots in which Iinsert CA hinges 1/8- inch wide. No longer do I use mu former best practice of figure of eights.

I just know in my heart of hearts that some where I am being smiled upon.

Andrew

Raymond

I'll give you twenty bucks for a couple of those meds and pay shipping - just tell me where you want me to send the cash. The last time I thought I heard the flutter of wings, it woke me up in the middle of the night - turned out to be a couple of bad tacos from the local texmex. [X(]

andrew

Raymond LeFlyr

My Feedback: (2)

Hmmm . . . come to think of it, my nose was stopped up that day.

Andrew I'd be glad to talk to my doctor about getting some "meds" of your very own, but alas, I hear he has changed his 'office' to another street corner and I haven't found it yet.

BobHH

My Feedback: (18)

Ok, OK, Ok, I will indulge some of my 1/2A speed secrets on hinge design. I actually use a triangle cut CA hinge design for 1/16 balsa appendages. Here is a picture of my Guided Mite with the same. Yes I know the accepted design should be sewn but due to my laziness I forgo the latter!! I know some will say these are too small and will break. I agree! Unfortunately my first Page Boy has this type of hinge being used on the rudder which this year is 20 years old and I quite counting flights after 350 and they have not broken yet but I’m waiting!!!!

By the way, it has a Ace pulser unit in it so I assume one flight the rudder moves to one extreme to the other more times than most modern day servos in a year!!!


Bob Harris

Tee Bee

I've also used floppy disc mylar with success. I don't have any pics so my scars will have to be sufficient proof, Steve.

skaliwag

My Feedback: (1)

Scars ,... Exactly why I am fishing for alternatives.

Andrew

I used to either sew the hinges with a figure 8 stitch or use cloth hinges in a Z pattern. Lately, I've just been beveling the edges to be joined at a 45 degree angle, pushing the pieces together and covering the top with clear packing tape for electrics or one of the iron on plastics for nitro. Flip the elevator (rudder or aileron) over so that it lays flat against the stab, then do the bottom side, wrapping around the hinge. I don't worry about trying to hinge in the middle of the surface, just at the top - it's not thick enough to make any control difference.

Bipe Flyer did a thread some time back on making monokote hinges, covering both the top and bottom.

andrew

OzMo

My Feedback: (3)

Clear monokote applied same as tape... I use a piece of cheap thin cereal box as a spacer. Rotate the control suface all the way until it is laying on top of the piece it is to be hinged to with the cereal box between apply clear monokote strip. Flex opposite direction as far as it will go repeat. One side only may work just fine and there is no law that the entire hinge line be covered either. I like to close the gap though for aerodynamic reasons.

Clear iron on covering is awful handy for hinges or sealing gaps and for patches.

OzMo

My Feedback: (3)

The neatest hinge I have run into lately is a lite weight 1 or 2 ounce Kevlar fabric piece soaked in epoxy and blotted well with paper towel
and allowed to cure pressed between layers of Saran Wrap. It comes out light and flexable and can be easily cut with ordinary scissors. Use it just like a plastic flex hinge but SECURE WITH EPOXY. This is a sail plane trick that works well with high grade thin balsa. Cut material so it is on the bias (threads running 45 degrees to hinge line).

Another way to make Kevlar hinges is to get some free Fiber optic cable scraps. The tensile material around the fiber optic strand is Kevlar tow. Just watch out for the fiber optic strand as it is a bit pokey. You can epoxy up some of this and pat out the excess epoxy and smash it between Saran wrap and weights the same way as above.
TIP using a bit of balsa scrap and double sided tape to preposition the tow helps. Place Plastic wrap on building board, pin down two pieces of scrap wood, apply double sided tape to the two pieces of scrap. stretch pieces of the kevlar tow over the taped wood (you can control the thickness here easily). place another piece of scrap over each end and pin well. Apply thinned epoxy to tow and spread as needed. Blot excess epoxy off with paper towel. Apply another piece of plastic wrap and apply weight.

It really is not hard and one batch will give tons of hinge material.

Seems like a long way to go for a hinge but this hinge is INDESTRUCTABLE, light and more flexable than most plastic hinge material.

airraptor

My Feedback: (66)

why not use the covering for hinges. you will need four strips 3/4" long and 1/4" wide to make one hinge. take two of the strips. lay one down with glue side up and then take the other glue side down. press the two strips together so that about 1/8-3/16" of the glue side is touching on both strips. apply lower heat than normal for your covering. you now made one half of the hinge. do this for all your hinge halfs.

Now lay out 2-4 halfs on your surface to hinge. center the center of the hinge half on the trailing edge of the wing, horizontal, or verticle stab. iron them down. now flip over the wing or stabs and put the other hinge half next to your other hinge halfs. center and iron down. now fold over the edge so the glue side will be on your control surface side. push the control surface up to the stab or wing pull hinges tight and then iron down. flip it over one more time. pull hinges tight and iron down.


I hope i didnt confuse you. if i did look up here on forums many posts about these type. the good thing is very light, seals the surface if use enough, and very very flexable. i have been hinging planes like this since early 80's and no problems. I have even used these type of hinges on 60 size planes.

ZoomZoom-RCU

Well, it looks like this topic has been pretty much covered, but there is a simple hinge solution that I haven't seen mentioned (exactly) that is easy and works great. I sometimes use the shipping bags from Fed Ex or the Post office. They are made of the same kind of stuff (Im not sure if its kevlar,woven teflon, or what its really called) as a lot of the purchased hinge material, only its free. It also has great traits. Its incredibly durable, very flexible, yet, if you want to stiffen it a bit just dab some CA on it and it firms up a bit if you are looking for a slightly stiffer joint. Unless I'm doing something unique or unusual (like the hinges on my .049 Taube that are aluminum wrapped light wooden doweling) its my hinge of choice.

ZZ.

Andrew

The product is Tyvek by DuPont.

andrew

ZoomZoom-RCU

The product is Tyvek by DuPont.

Thats it!!! Thanks Andrew.......its great stuff.

ZZ.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

I can't say I have tried this on 1/16" (yet), but I have successfully slotted 3/32" using a Dremel router base and one of those wafer thin Dremel saw blades set at mid-thickness. I did this for a couple of 1/2A's and a small fast lekkie. I then used a strip of 21st Century fabric covering as the full-span hinge. Worked perfectly. I think there's an old thread on it, I'll look.

I suppose one could laminate 1/32 with the covering/hinge material trapped between laminations, but this sounds like a bit of a PITA to me.

Ah here it is.. picture 7 on post #1 shows the hinge, in this case on the fin/rudder of a Simpl e400: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8437899

John Cole

My Feedback: (4)

Skaliwag;

I've had really good results with thin poly repair tape. Works well on tissue and dope or iron on film. One strip across one side, fold the surface back, and apply a few pieces on the other side.

The small 1/2A Robart hinge points work ok too on 3/32" sheet or bigger, but a bit tricky to install. As I get older, tricky becomes less desireable..

John

Yuu

Raymond, do you 'grease' your slide rule often? And, how much did you have to use it? And does that 'grease' help with the accuracy of the answer? Well, if it's a K & E log-log-duples-deci-trig I'll be impressed. Anyone who can still operate a 26 scale slide rule is taking the right pills. Good for you. Your time working for Uncle Sam has not gone to waste.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

In many cases light 3/32" is a better choice than regular 1/16" anyway. Sure when they get really small then maybe not, but on a 1/2A I'll always use 3/32" - thicker and lighter beats thinner and denser in my books.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

Raymond designed his bed with a slide rule - now he sleeps like a log..

Andrew

AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!! [X(]