RCU Forums - How To - Plug In Wings

Page 1 of 3

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page

RCU Forums (https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/)

- Composites Fabrication And Repair (https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/composites-fabrication-repair-97/)

- - How To - Plug In Wings (https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/composites-fabrication-repair-97/2431871-how-plug-wings.html)

N2EC	12-14-2004 04:53 AM

How To - Plug In Wings

Hello,

I am building a pattern airplane designed to have plug in wings. The airplane will have foam wings and a balsa fuselage to start with and later on I plan to mold the fuselage. The design also shall have a plug in tailplanes. Could somebody please refer me to some article and/or step by step guide on how to install wing tubes in foam wings and attach the same to the fuselage maintaining proper incidence. Also, how would I do that for the tailplane.

My next question would be that when I do convert the fuselage to fiberglass and make a couple of airplanes for the same design, how could I ensure that each wing has the tube set in the same spot, so that the fuselage and wings are interchangeable. Would I required to make any sort of templates or plain measurements would do.

I have installed wing tubes in airplanes before, but would request help form all you guys so that I get it absolute right. A photo guide would be awesome!!!

Thanks.

Jack

Mike James

12-14-2004 06:03 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

I bet if you search the Pattern forum, you'll find that info in several of the construction threads.

Here's how I did it on my sport jet.This link ( http://www.nextcraft.com/j47_sportjet04.html )is in the middle of the article, which begins at http://www.nextcraft.com/j47_sportjet01.html It's a pretty typical method. Dihedral can be calculated beforehand, and you can make a jig to bore the wing tube hole while the wings are still in the shucks.

When you're ready to mold your fuselage, just fill the holes for the wing tube almost, but not quite, flush with the fuselage sides, leaving small depressions. When molded, these give consistent marks for cutting the holes for the wing tube, alignment pins, servo wire holes, or whatever.

It's best to be really attentive when doing this, but it's not very hard. Just use your normal tools... squares, bubble levels, incidence meter, etc., and don't glue permanently until you're convinced it's right. That's the best part of molds. You only have to do these things once.

N2EC	12-15-2004 03:17 AM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

Thanks Mike your Jet looks great...waiting to get my hands on one...i have not had much luck in the pattern forum..did look earlier..before I posted this thread...you talk about a jig to bore the holes in the wing..will it be come kind of a rib..say two at a distance of 6"...with the hole drilled and that could be placed alongside the wing and the tube could be inserted therough that into the wing ?? any other ideas...also while on this..though somehat related...for composite molded wings do they have separete molds for the ailerons or is that they lay the wing up and then cut the ailerons...

some photos from C-Arf suggest that they lay up the entire wing in the mold...but looking closely at a wing..it can be seen that the ailerons are molded separately..cause no marks can be seen and it is a nice round hinge surface...i want to know how they do it..cause my next step would be to also mold wings for the airplane....i am attaching a photo of the type of wing I want to make...

Thanks..

Mike James

12-15-2004 11:04 AM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

Looks like the control surface is molded separately. If you go to the Composite-ARF site and download some of their instruction manuals, you'll find more information than what's out front on the site itself, including photos of the inside of some of the wings.

For the wing tube, I would use a block with a hole bored in it to create a jig, and adjust the angle of the wings as needed. Some of the expensive kits, like the ZN Line Pattern planes have this done by CNC machines, early in the process, but you can achieve the same accuracy if you're careful.

ptxman

12-31-2004 03:24 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

ORIGINAL: N2EC I am building a pattern airplane designed to have plug in wings. The airplane will have foam wings and a balsa fuselage to start with and later on I plan to mold the fuselage. The design also shall have a plug in tailplanes. Could somebody please refer me to some article and/or step by step guide on how to install wing tubes in foam wings and attach the same to the fuselage maintaining proper incidence. Also, how would I do that for the tailplane.
Jack

Im having to dig deep in the ancient PTX Vector archives but here goes. When it comes to boring the cores to accept the spar socket tubes, I came up with this drilling jig. Worked very well. Any incidence in the wings is set by the tip templates. Same idea for the stab plug-in system. I used Gator tubes & sockets at the time.

ptxman

12-31-2004 03:41 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

ORIGINAL: My next question would be that when I do convert the fuselage to fiberglass and make a couple of airplanes for the same design, how could I ensure that each wing has the tube set in the same spot, so that the fuselage and wings are interchangeable. Would I required to make any sort of templates or plain measurements would do.

I dont have a picture of my jig handy, but use the attached pic & this (from memory) description to visualize how I aligned & glued in the socket stub into the fuse. I had a base board jig which basically held the fuse into a repeatable position. My pattern model had a removable belly pan so the fuse had a nice flat datum to sit down & align things like this. I made had a simple locating template which slid up against the fuse & showed where to cut out the holes for the socket on each side of the fuse. Outboard on the base board jig were 2 endblocks that accurately held the ends of the same aluminum spar (1" od or whatever). IOW it maintained the spar perpendicular to the fuse C/L & also perfectly horizontal. So to install:
- make the socket stub slightly larger than the width of the fuse
- make 2 plywood donuts with an ID just a smidge larger than the socket OD & maybe 1/4" ring width
- slide the spar tube into the fuse, thread it through the socket stub & donuts which are now in the fuse, attach the spar to the end blocks so its all set up
- then just apply some epoxy adhesive to the donuts & a small fillet on the socket
- when its all cured, remove the alignment tube, trim the protruding socket ends flush with the fuse

ptxman

12-31-2004 03:46 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

And here is what the plug-in stab adjuster setup looked like. If you search the web on pattern sites you will find more detailed pics & tips like this. Good luck.

ptxman

12-31-2004 03:49 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

And the inside fuse view of the wing adjuster.

ptxman

12-31-2004 03:53 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

When it comes to boring the cores to accept the spar socket tubes, I came up with this drilling jig....

Forgot one important detail. The foam wings have a connecting spar that connects the socket to teh wing skin. This was cut in after the socket was installed. I used something like 1/32" ply with 0.014" carbon strip cap on both sides. This pic shows how it runs.

Mike James

12-31-2004 05:05 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

Great work, and great photos, Peter. I always enjoy seeing your immaculate work.

macro-RCU

12-31-2004 10:54 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

Beautiful work ptxman, I'm learning more....

N2EC	01-02-2005 08:09 AM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

Peter,

Thanks for the help and great pictures which has helped me a great deal. If only you could post the picture for the fuesaleg jig..it woud be absolutely perfect learning...once again great work..also a top view photo of inside the fuselage of the wing installed to the fuselage and bolted on would be of great use..

thanxs..

Jack

Quote:

ORIGINAL: ptxman

Quote:

ptxman

01-03-2005 04:24 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

ORIGINAL: N2EC
Peter, Thanks for the help and great pictures which has helped me a great deal. If only you could post the picture for the fuesaleg jig..it woud be absolutely perfect learning...once again great work..also a top view photo of inside the fuselage of the wing installed to the fuselage and bolted on would be of great use..

Here is a top view pic that shows a few things. Its at the stage where the fuse socket has been aligned & glued into the fuse with the ply donuts. Whats happening now is the root rib is aligned to fuse, centered on the spar socket & at correct incidence. Now the adjuster pin holes are drilled in the fuse & using the root rib as a template & the pin sockets are glued onto the rib matched to that. The rods are preferred over the gator adjusters themselves because that ensures the wing will pull off in a parallel line with the spar. ie, the fuse is tapered so if the pins came out at 90 deg to the fuse side, they wuld bind in the socket. The slight angle of the adjuster themselves is then an easy manner of gluing it in on a pad of ply slightly beveled or a bit more epoxy.

Sorry dont have a pic of the spar alignment jig anymore, I might be able to cad one. But basically visualize this view with 2 blocks, 1 for each end of the aluminum spar tube. They each have a hole in it to match the spar & of course they are positioned to yeild the alignment of the spar, both perpendicular to the fuse C/L & at the same height from the jig baseplate (so the spar is horizontal when viewed from the rear). Hope this helps.

ptxman

01-03-2005 04:27 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

Heres a view showing the gator adjusters installed.

ptxman

01-03-2005 04:32 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

With wings on/off

macro-RCU

01-04-2005 12:59 AM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

Great work ptxman....

why not a thread about your plane?

ptxman

01-04-2005 08:00 AM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

ORIGINAL: macro-RCU

Great work ptxman....

why not a thread about your plane?

Thanks for the compliment. This stuff is pretty old actually, going back 4 or 5 years I think. Ive since moved the dark side to something outside my normal world, F5D (electric pylon racing). The euro-composites in that class have moved the bar up a few notches, so that will be fun to achieve & I have some ideas of my own..:D

A buddy of mine has a website with similar construction series pics on the F3A Enigma, a more modern design. Heres the website. And I know there are others if you search the net for pattern/F3A stuff.

http://members.shaw.ca/patternwestnews/

N2EC	01-07-2005 02:47 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

Thanks Peter for all the help...I shall post pictures once I have things going. Am presently building the plugs for a .46 size pattern airplane and shall use your methods for production.

Mike James

03-14-2005 08:02 PM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

Hey, Jack,

Let us see some photos of your pattern plane!

N2EC	03-15-2005 12:58 AM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

Mike,

As of now the molds are curing and I shall be ready to open them tomorrow...pity I could not document the process as I was in a bit of a rush to get things going...shall start a thread soon as I plan to make composite wings and tail for the model...

Jack

Mike James

03-15-2005 09:33 AM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

I'm sure a lot of us would like to see photos of what you've done so far.

N2EC	03-16-2005 12:23 AM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

So here we go...the molds are done and are smiling pretty at me...the photos below show the two mold halves...the other close up of the fin shows the the alignment pin..fairly simple to do..I sharpened a few pieces of metal on the grinding wheel and put it in the mold...working well...

The second close up shows the manner in which I have installed the jack screws...I put a piece of stainlesss steel on the flange on one side when doing the molds...the corresponding side had a threaded nut right over the metal when doing the molds...What i did for the nut was fairly simple. The nut was drilled on three ends and 1" pieces of hard rod inserted in the nut on the sides which would help the nut to hold in the mold. I will post a picture of that soon...

The black stuff that you see around the seam is graphite mixed with the epoxy...I am also contemplating substituting this with aluminium for my next mold..

The first photo shows the outside surface..centre has the jack screw and the other two hold the mold together...they have blind nuts on each mold half which were incorporated at the time of making the molds.

I wonder, if there is enough interest, whether I should start a separate build thread for my airplane.

Jack

Mike James

03-16-2005 12:33 AM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

So, you built this, eh, "Jack" from Bangkok?

Look familiar, AK?

N2EC	03-16-2005 12:48 AM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

1 Attachment(s)

Mike, who is this AK...anyways..just attaching one of the photos of the side view of the plug..

Jack

Mike James

03-16-2005 12:52 AM

RE: How To - Plug In Wings

I would like to see ANY photo of you building this plug.

All times are GMT -8. The time now is 02:24 PM.

Page 1 of 3

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page