highvoltage

My Feedback: (1)

Hi,
I am kinda new to the r/c thing and I am into kit building. I have seen these wing jigs. They say they help you build a good wing. Does anyone have one of these or know anything about them. I was thinking about getting one. But I want to know if they are worth it. I dont even know how they work. So if anyone can shed some light on them.

MikeS

My Feedback: (37)

Most kits have jigs or techniques built into the ribs to help make the wing straight and flat. A wing jig is just something else you need to master in order to build correctly. If you are struggling with the instructions, you will have added to your worries.
Most jigs rely on two 1/4 inch holes drilled or punched into the wing ribs, exactly, I repeat exactly, in the same spot on each rib. The ribs are slid onto a dowel or other straight and stiff rods, which are then clamped parallel to each other while the spars, le and te are added. Tiny variations in location mean that the ribs are not at the same angle and /or fore/aft position relative to each other.
Look at this from Alan's RC links:

http://webpages.charter.net/rcfu/Con.../WJConstr.html

Most people who I have seen use these end up enlarging the holes in most ribs so they can get things to fit.
The best use I have seen is in scratch build, where two rib templates are made, then drilled, and the ribs are cut and sanded around these. That way is more accurate, but hard to do in pre-cut ribs. Add taper, sweep, tip reflex etc and it gets complicated. There is a commercial unit out that tries to take on all the issues, and does well, but many folks who have them who are not repeat commercial builders let them sit idle in a corner.
Why use it when the design has jigs, tabs and alignment fixtures to help make the wing straight.
Good luck in your decision. IMO, the better choice is patience and thinking through each step.

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

The old kits from Gp had holes in the ribs meant for a jig, and they of course recommend the gp wing jig. but the gp kits nowadays do away completely with the need for a jig. all you need is a flat building board. just my 2c.........

Mooney_driver

The current url to Howard Sullivan's version of the wing jig is at:
http://home.mchsi.com/~howard.sullivan/ConstGuide/WJConstr.html

You might back up a page to his construction guides pages at:
http://home.mchsi.com/~howard.sullivan/ConstGuide/

where he has a fuse jig and severalother articles.

I tried to get either the PDF or Word documents of these articles but those links appear to be broken but the html pages still work.

MostlyKaos

If you do not want to pin your wing the the flat surface, or have an elaborate magnetic board, then use a wing jig. The wing jig does not build the wing, it just holds the ribs in place while YOU build the wing. The one thing I like about the jig is, once some of the wing is completed and glue dried, you can flip it around and glue from the bottom. One thing I noticed though, if you use aliphatic resin glue, like Tite-Bond or Elmers, it makes the wood wet and can warp a long piece such as the leading and trailing edge of the wing. If the wing is well pinned to a flat surface, it may not warp, but when using a wing jig, the metal rods are all that is holding the ribs stable and may flex a little. Like others have posted, there is a bit of a learning curve to the wing jig.