CapnG-RCU

I know, I know, a sharp, folded, creased, leading edge fly's just as good as a nice rounded one. A sharp one is easy to do and strong. I know.

With that said it still just bugged me. An airplane is supposed to have a rounded LE! If you agree here's the jig I built and used to get nice, straight, even rounded edges without much ado.









Step 1: Mark and cut Coro
Step 2: Lay Coro over Die Groove so the LE mark is centered on the groove.
Step 3: Heat Coro along LE mark with heat gun.
Step 4: CRUSH! Allow to cool . . . . .

Here's a link to the plans:http://leogreene.mystarband.net/Pics_02-03/le_press.pdf

Plastic's Cool!

cabpond

Neat idea !!!

Another trick of the trade.

Cary

onewayHis

That's about the prettiest wing jig I think I've ever seen. Great looking LE, too

DeBearSteve

A very good idea, and very well presented. This is what I like. Congrats and thanks

DeBear

Volture

My Feedback: (1)

Well all righty then! Clever and useful -- I like it!

Ross Kean

How much do you have to heat the coro at the LE and do you have to heat both sides??

Ross

CapnG-RCU

Ross,

I usually heat only one side, the inside, the side facing up . . . .

Though I have crushed them cold . . . . It's just harder to do.

I heat it until it's soft, that's all, you don't want the flutes to deform.

Most times I use 2mil but it works equally well with 4

Elwood

My Feedback: (2)

That is cool!

bkyser

My Feedback: (1)

Do you need to leave the dowel in to maintain the shape, or does it stay as well as the sharp bend?

cabpond

CapnG;

How did you make the 1/2" circular groove in the 2 x 4 that the coroplast gets molded into ?

This would have to be perfectly straight and level for the wing to be made.


Thanks

Cary

Daryl

1/2" round router bit I bet - that's what I'd use, anyway. Some time ago, I posted a picture on the other Spad board about slitting 4 to6 flutes at the LE, then squeezing some poly glue into the flutes that are slit. You can adjust the LE roundness (size) by weighing down the top surface at different locations. Get the LE bent to the shape you want and leave it alone for 5 hours.
: This will give you a round, hard LE that will take quite a smack.:^)

CapnG-RCU

Right you are Daryl, 1/2 inch router bit! Don't try to take it all in one cut though. A bunch of little cuts, each one deeper than the last works great!

First wing I did with it I actually glued the dowel to the coro. I found however that the coro holds the shape very well without it. If you want the extra strength glue an arrow shaft after the crush!

SeacretsOceanCity

Is that 2 mil ? will 4 mil work with the same jig. great idea.

JIVE TURKEY

How about a larger diameter, say 3/4" to 1"? If you could find a router bit that big, that is. The reason I ask, is for a fun-fly wing with the thick airfoil and rounded le. I would think it might be easier to crush, since it's more of a radius.....???????

CapnG-RCU

So far the only wings I've made were of 2mil. I've done some test crushes on 4mil and they seem to work great too! Once the flute crushes the resultant thickness is about the same.

I've only got one 1/2 inch round router bit so I've not tried a larger size. I do think it would work just fine though. For the LE of my LawnDart.Bat, I crushed it with the 1/2 inch die then worked it with some heat over a 1 inch dowel. (should have went out and got the bigger bit!)

Take a look at the pdf plans link in the first post of this thread and modify accordingly.

Pjtg0707

How did you get the thickness of the wing on your last picture?

It looks like you glue two coro ribs at the ends and did without the spar?

CapnG-RCU

Pjtg0707: The coro ribs at the ends I'd call caps. They cover the wing ends and the spar thats inside . . . . It's a tapered spar.

I'd recommend caps on the ens of wings for all SPADs. The cap adds tremendous tensional (twisting) stiffness, they keep the foil shape at the tips, as well as reduce drag. (They also look sharp and keep the dirt out)

PUFFDADDY

very nice jig nice wing

rsieminski

That's the sweetest wing I've ever seen! How did you make those clean looking end caps?