gauravag

Hello,
I am building a Great Planes Super Sportster 60 size kit.
I was surprised to find that the two wing panels were butt joined with a traingular piece of wood ( for dihedral ).
I have previous building experience of 4-5 kits, but never have i come across something like this. ( no dihedral braces etc )
Will this be strong enough ?
Also the manual says to use a 5 inch wide fiberglass tape.. However the kit has only a 1 inch tape.
Since i am living in India, it will not be possible to call up the GP support and ask for replacement...

Will the 1 inch tape be enough? Can i use an ordinary nylon cloth with epoxy on the center instead of the supplied tape?
Thanks for all your replies!
Gaurav

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

The butt joint works fine, but needs plenty of support in the form of fiberglass tape; 3" on each side of the joint. Many of the older Great Planes kits which are copies of popular designs (Super Kaos, etc.) use butt-jointed wing halves.

Dunno about using regular nylon; play it safe and get some genuine fiberglass tape. When I built my Super Sportster 60, I laid the tape down with CA in a few places to keep it taut, then flowed the epoxy on and spread it with a heat gun to ensure the glass cloth was thoroughly permeated with the resin.

This works well, but have plenty of alcohol and paper towels handy to contain the runs, as it can get messy in a hurry...

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Mine is about 12 years old. I didnt like the butt joint either. I made a 1/4" ply spar and modified the wing. Then I used 4" of 6oz glass over the top and bottom center section. I fly this plane hard with an ST.75. Takes it with no problem.
Edwin

Kaos Rulz

gauravag

The 1" will not be enough. You need 5" to 6" wide to provide the strength you need. The nylon might work if it's a heavy grade (5-6 oz/sq. ft) with a fairly open weave. Whatever material you go with, I find that a light spray of 3M 77 contact cement will allow you to position the material and work it around corners/radius, etc, before applying the epoxy.

Do you have any auto, or boat repair shops that might have the fiberglass cloth?

CRFlyer

I built mine to plans and also ran a super tigre 75. I just went to my LHS and bought some heavy fiberglass to use as per the instructions. The 1 inch tape is not enough as the others have said. But, if buy some tape and make it 6 inches and go around the wing center joint with it, you will end up with a strong joint.

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

If you can't get the wide fiberglass tape, I would build a good dihedral brace and put it in. Better safe than sorry.

gauravag

Thanks for all your replies, i guess i will try to find the tape here locally.
I have written to Great Planes Part Support as well.
Not sure whythey have given the 1" tape, when a 5" is shown on the plans and in the instruction book.
Surprisingly their part list also has a 1" tape !
Not sure how many builders would have used the supplied one .
Thanks all !
Gaurav

Bax

My Feedback: (11)

The 5-6-inch wide glass cloth in the wing's center section is as strong as any plywood dihedral joint. Build the model exactly per the instructions and you won't go wrong. The fiberglass tape to support the wing never did come with the model, but was always a separate purchase. The 1"-wide fiberglass tape is to reinforce the wheel pants where they are joined.

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

Hope you can find the tape you need there. I know mine flew for years with the tape on it with no dihedral brace and I put it through the wringer and it held well. UPS finally destroyed it when I sold it and shipped it. Never seen a box so completely destroyed.

You will like the plane. Its one of the best.

Propwash in Pa

I agree with all of the comments. Plane is a great flyer. I would do two more things. Reinforce the wooden hold downs to the side of the fuse and make a couple of changes to the landing gear. If I were building another, I would strengthen all components associated with the wire gears and I would move them forward by 1/2" or so.

Good flying.

John 373786