chevypower1930

Alright Frenchie thanks!
I think im back on track the little BP Peice that fits in the servo tray fit in there good and the wing seems REALLY strong, Im sure the fiberglass will help out even more

frenchie79

Good, just be sure their are no gaps before you put the fiber tape on. That joint MUST be strong. Good Luck

chevypower1930

Hey everyone builds going smooth again
Got the fuselage all rubberband together, not gluing yet though
got a question!

I do not have an engine yet, so can I install the engine and everything AFTER I have the build completed? or do I have to keep the F1(firewall) former out of the build?

OR would it be easier to just take the OS 46 off my Nexstar and mount all the screws in accordance to that? are all OS 46's the same size... becuase I know the engine on the Nexstar isn't OS's performance engine, and I want to get a differenet type of OS engine.

also are all 46 Glow engines the same size? if thats the case I will just mount the hardware via the Nexstars engine

heres some pictures

MasterAlex

Chevy ...

Probably not what you want to hear, but I'm going to say it anyway - those gaps in post 49 are way too big. It looks like the gap on the bottom of the wing is small/neglegible, where the gap on the top is sizable. The glue joint between the wing halves must be solid or you will likely fold those wings on your first downline. I've see it happen ... not a pretty sight.

I agree the fiberglass tape will strengthen the joint, but the joint has to be solid to begin with, which yours does not appear to be. If it were me, well I'd make darn sure the structural integrity of the thing responsible for keeping me airborne was sound.

Granted, I'm not there to see this and pictures only go so far ... but I'd probably surgically separate the wings, figure out why they weren't mating properly, correct the issue and re-glue.

Ultimately, its up to you.

Edit: I realize this is probably too late for you, but it might help the next person building a kit ... for a great step-by-step guide on joining wings check out RCKen's LT-40 Build [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3439708/mpage_6/key_/tm.htm]here[/link] starting with post 135.

chevypower1930

how would you go about taking apart the wings?
there is A LOT of epoxy on there and in there on the dehedral brace and everything

I mean I can grab it and try to bend it and I cant... I just really dont want these wings to fold but I dont know how to go about taking these wings apart.. I think if I could get an inline long sander I could probably fix the wings and get the inside edges the same.. I think it was just the fact that the sanding was not EXACTLY even on both sides... but I could only do so much w/ just a sanding block..

chevypower1930

I've made my mind up.... this wing is strong... I can't even budge the wing right now and its w/o the fiberglass strip.. heres some close up's

and just for kicks heres the fuselage w/ the canopy on it its takin the shape of a plane finally!

pulcastro

I gotta tell ya - I built my first kit - a 4*40 almost 10 years ago and my wing was worse than this and it is still flying like a champ.
Don't want to steer you wrong, but, the fiberglass tape adds a lot of strength.

saramos

I think it'll be very hard to do with an exacto knife. You might go at it with a hack saw blade. Wrap both ends of the blade with tape and work slowly in from to the dihedral brace, then from the back to the dihedral brace. The tough part will be the brace itself. You may need to cut through it and make a new one out of some ply. Use the sheet the original brace came from as a guide to mark and cut a new brace.

For the sanding block, use as long a block as you can. The longer the block, the more even and true the surfaces will be.

Scott

chevypower1930

Thank you man..... this wing feels VERY strong.. I can't even budge it if i'm putting a pretty good amount of pressure on it.. so im confident in it!

Alex7403

Jeez you build fast, i’m embarrassed gluing one stick at a time.
I fiberglass all my wings in the center it adds a lot of strength.
Keep up the good work.

vmsguy

Regarding the wing joint,

I've got a question for you...

Looking at your pictures, it looks like you sanded a round end on the sheeting. So the question I have, are the gaps thru-and-thru, or is it just a surface gap? If it's all the way through the wing, or deep into it, then there are structural issues. If it's only surface because you rounded the ends of the sheeting, then it's not so bad.

If you want to try to fix the wing, you can try to remove a couple pieces of sheeting, say the pieces behind the spar, and try to add some reinforcements or fix the problem......

WAIT A second... you got a heat gun? Won't epoxy melt with heat? Give this a try. Mix up some epoxy and glue a couple scrap pieces together, wait overnight. Tomorrow, fire up the heat gun and try to heat the epoxy and separate the pieces. If that works, you should be able to do the same with your wing halves.... Then while the epoxy is still warm, scrape away all you can... If this works, you can fix all you can, and re-epoxy later.

Again, this is your plane, and your build.. Do what you want, or not....

I can't stress this enough... it's your plane. Not mine... so do what you think is best. If it flys, it flys. If it fails it fails. You pick up the pieces, and go from there...

WILDBILL M

vmsguy . . .check out his post #47 Gaps are really bad. Maybe even didn't install dihedral brace??? How about it chevypower is the dihedral brace installed?? If not, you have major problems..

WILDBILL M

Looking at Post #50 , brace appears to be installed.......That will help..

MasterAlex

Well... I would probably start with a Dremel cutoff wheel in that gap on the top. If that didn't do the trick, I'd follow it up with a hacksaw. Don't bend it as this will surely cause damage elsewhere. My guess is you do not have these tools. Sounds like others feel like you're okay and that they've seen worse - possibly the easiest thing to do here is glass it and go on and chalk it up to experience. Don't get frustrated.

-MA

frenchie79

Leave it-you will do more damage than it's worth. Get some 2 or 3 " fiberglass and glass both sides. Guys on this site can help you with that. Now the fun part with your brand new plane-After getting use to the way it flys, take it up to 5000 feet or as high as you can see it then nose dive to 100 feet and CRANK it back straight up-FULL THROTTLE. You'll know if it safe to fly around a crowd.

PS-Make sure know one is around.

Alex7403

I agree with Frenchie on this one, whats done is done, bury it underneath thin layer of fiberglass and 30 min epoxy.
1 or 2 or 3 inch wide fiberglass will solve the problem.
that what i would do.

chevypower1930

thanks yall... sorry was hanging out w/ the girlfriend tonight... its 11 and Im going back up to start building again! did yall get my post about the fuselage? Im gonna keep the wing the way it is... I think it is very structurally sound as I pick it up and mess around with it and put pressure on it.. its seems just as strong as any other wing, hey if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, I can fix it if I built it! but I am very confident it will be fine...

heres the question about the fuselage and firewall again...


[quote]ORIGINAL: chevypower1930

Hey everyone builds going smooth again
Got the fuselage all rubberband together, not gluing yet though
got a question!

I do not have an engine yet, so can I install the engine and everything AFTER I have the build completed? or do I have to keep the F1(firewall) former out of the build?

OR would it be easier to just take the OS 46 off my Nexstar and mount all the screws in accordance to that? are all OS 46's the same size... becuase I know the engine on the Nexstar isn't OS's performance engine, and I want to get a differenet type of OS engine.

also are all 46 Glow engines the same size? if thats the case I will just mount the hardware via the Nexstars engine

Alex7403

The F1 need to be glued, however its easier to mark the holes and the center when its not on the plane.
The distance between engine mounts of OS 46AX is 35 mm, between the mounting holes its 17.5 mm center to center on the same side.
Also the center of the crank (the rod which the prop is sitting on) is at the top level of the engine mounts.

One more thing to consider is the throttle hole in F1, I believe it’s the same as the engine you have if not its not a big deal as long it doesn’t interfere with the muffler.
I would check to see if it’s the same with the engine that you have and use that as a guidance.

The OS 46 AX manual has dimensions at the end on the printed version.

One more thing to notice is that you have enough space between the needle valve and the screw mounting the engine mount to F1 (about 7 mm) so you can reach the mounts screws easly.

I took the height of the engine mount from the plans.

Alex

Alex7403

I meant if its identical to the engine that you have than use the engine as a guidance than replace it. (if you think of putting OS 46 AX)

chevypower1930

hey,

I put the mounts at those dimensions and I just can't see a 46 size engine fitting in between these mounts....
heres some pictures does this look right

Alex7403

if you think about OS 46 AX then:

1) 35 mm = 1 3/8 inch
2) distance between needle and engine mount.
3) space for mount screw

thunder tiger 46 pro has different dimensions

if you want me to remove the pics from your build thread say so.
hope it helps

Alex

chevypower1930

Alright thanks alex so your saying the os 46 ax should fit in there? I was just makin sure that it was not like way off, becuase I just simply couldn't picture a 46 engine fitting inside an inch space... just looked decieving, and those picture are fine on the thread, i dont care its a part of my build

Alex7403

1 inch = no good.
1 3/8 inch = good

the OS 46 AX would fit if there is 1 3/8 inch distance between the mounts.
as for the wing i would do what post #65 is suggesting, the fiberglassing not the 5000 ft
the 2nd pic is distorted but the distance is 1 3/8 inch.

mclina

Hey Chevypower,

I think your wing will be fine if you get a good 3" wrap of fiberglass on the center.

As for your engine mount, I would go with Alex's measurements IF you are sure you are going to use an OS46AX. If you are not sure, then I would SLOW DOWN and wait until you have an engine picked out. It is a lot easier installing blind nuts in a firewall that is not already in a plane.

Your build looks like it's going great, and I know how exciting it is doing your first build, but you really should slow down and enjoy it. My first build was also a Four Star 40, and I built the airframe in a week. I basically put it together like an ARF, and then I stuck in all of the gear after the fact. It is a lot easier to slow down, route all of your control pushrods, etc., before you cover the plane. If you are not 100% sure of your engine, then maybe you should fit one of those adjustable engine mounts that will give you some leeway.

You should also get your throttle cable routed and your fuel tank/lines installed before going much further. It is a lot easier to get everything straight when you have room to work. Same thing with your servo tray, pushrod supports, etc.

Keep up the great work, but make sure you are thinking ahead and enjoy the building process. It's really not a race.

chevypower1930

thanks everyone,
Ya I think im gonna wait until I actually order or buy an engine. and I may go ahead and work on the wings more now (Ailerons, fiberglassing, etc...

ya builds going really good and love it