Wing Fillets and Removable Wings?
 

I've been drawing up plans for my design contest entry, here's my first head scratcher:

I'm building a Lockheed Altair for .020 power, and since it will be a scale attempt I'd like to have wing fillets that mimic the real aircraft (shown below). My only previous experience with fillets has been with the Guillows models, but I don't think the card stock fillets will really do the trick, especially since I want to be able to remove the wings. So I guess my first question is: what do you make fillets out of? I plan to cover the model in Monokote.

Secondly I'm not sure how to make fillets that will allow the wing to be removed and yet still look nice (no big gaps) when the wing is on the fuselage. I've thought about building the fillets into the wing, so that the wings would take a part of the fuselage with it when they were removed. Or making the center portion of the wing integral to the fuselage, and have the wings come apart where I have drawn the line. This latter method seems cleaner, but more complicated. Whatever I do, it needs to be light.

Do any of you have any advice?

Thanks!

Derek

RE: Wing Fillets and Removable Wings?
 

I like the way Easy-Built incorporate the fillet into the fuselage as on their Spitfires.

RE: Wing Fillets and Removable Wings?
 

I looked up the model you mentioned, and it does look good. I am just not sure how to make that sort of structure removable, while retaining a good fit. I don't want a big groove along the fuselage where the surfaces meet.

Thanks for the advice,

Derek

RE: Wing Fillets and Removable Wings?
 

If it was me doing it I'd make up a 1/64 ply wing saddle shaped "floor" on the fillet and make the fillet part of the fuselage. The only discontinuity where the wing meets the fillet would then be the 1/64 ply and even that could be sanded to match the fairing down to half the thickness. For sheeting the fillet on a model of this size 1/32 balsa should do the trick. The edges can be sanded down to fit down nice and snug to the ply saddle floor. Alternateley use the same 1/64 ply and cave up the fillets from blue styrofoam then "glass" them with 1/2 oz cloth useing water based varathane as the bonding resin. The clothy surface texture can then be filled with a slightly thinned slurry of lighweight wall filling compound (similar to Model Magic) and sanded smooth. The resulting surfaces will be quite nice for the regular finish and hard enough a skin that it is comparable to a tissued balsa surface in it's resistance to dents and dimples.

Good luck, that's always been a nice one.

RE: Wing Fillets and Removable Wings?
 

I have to deal with the same problem on my Gee Bee. I'm going to have the fillet attached to the fuselage because in the photos you can see a definite line between the fillet and the wing. The tricky part will be covering it.

RE: Wing Fillets and Removable Wings?
 

Yes, attach the fillets to the fuselage, not the wing! I made that mistake on a Top Flight P39 I built when I was a teen.
I attached them to the wing, horrible, horrible.
I wrote an article that appeared in FM a couple years ago on building light wing fillets, much like DB described. Don't remember which issue, about 2 years ago though. Really quite easy, and plenty light for 1/2a's if you use appropriate thickness material.
I used the method to build fillets on my .25 GeeBee R1 built from old Paul DelGatto CL plans from the MAN 1961 annual. Built on both sides of the wing, and split at the LE and TE to allow wing removal. That was a challenge!
Dave

RE: Wing Fillets and Removable Wings?
 

That's the way I've been doing my fillets for years, and it's pretty hard to beat.

It just takes a nice peice of rolled sandpaper, a steady hand, and a keen eye.

None of which I have at the moment.

Damn those expensive business lunches!

(yes I'm in australia, add 8 hours!)