flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

Has/does anyone cut holes (lightening holes) like a door hole saw bit in the foam wings of these planes,, am building the cap and the wing seems pretty heavy is the only reason I ask...didnt notice it in the extra but I havent flown it either and the cap is closer to finishing because I want the extra to be a standout more than a flyer.........Rog

Lynn S

Rog,
Unless you sheet the wings with balsa first, I think it would be a bad idea. Then if you sheet the wings you will probably add weight. Be sure to use the fiber strapping tape on the top and bottom of the wing.
I wouldn't worry about the weight. My Extra is doing great with a constant cord wing and a Norvel .049
The one thing the wing does need is a 1/4 inch sq trailing edge, and 1 inch ailerons.This really helps with more lift.

rrragmanliam

My Feedback: (1)

That's a good question Rog. Ya know the covering adds strength to the wing. I wonder if a few holes would really hurt. I've thought about this too. Perhaps one of us will have to try it. (you will note I didn't volienteir). Darren

wild fred

My Feedback: (3)

I wouldn't bother, as it wouldn't be simple then! the older kits had denser foam than the new wings. they still fly fine.

wild fred

My Feedback: (3)

just remembered, a freind had a glh II back in the 80's that he drilled a BUNCH of 5/8" holes in, then strapping taped and covered. wasn't much lighter, but it was strong enough, didn't break with td 051 and 2 s-28 servos in it. he drilled them every inch in a staggered pattern.

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

Ive done it before, but not on the ss's it was on a park flyer that was almost dead anyway to save some weight I just mean maybe 2-4 holes doorknob size, you wouldnt need to cover with anything but monocote or ultracoat in this case........I have my .049 TD going on this one too since my foam flyer bit the proverbial dust........Rog

Duane-RCU

My Feedback: (5)

I thought holes would be a good idea on some wings, till I bought a scale...My .40 size, 52" foam wing weighs 2.5 oz per side, about 5.0 oz of foam total. So to cut holes in it would not save me much. On a small wing, you may save about 1/2 ounce? I built my S400, and covered the wing with Econo-cote(lighter) and used dope on the fuse, I didn't cover it.

whstlngdeath

My Feedback: (15)

I believe that lightening holes on such small planes won't be making things lighter. At the most, you'd be saving a few grams. On the other hand, the gear you choose to install in the airframe can make a big difference. On my S.S. Corsair, which is E powered, I chose direct drive to save the weight of a gearbox; I used 9 gram Bluebird servos, a Li-poly battery, and took the case off of the receiver. To the airframe, I did use lighter sheeting on the top, 1/16" instead of the 3/32". Also, if you use epoxy just for the essentials, such as wing joints and firewall, and use CA for the rest, it will save some of that heavy epoxy weight. The S.S. Corsair foam wing has 4 joints and that balsa spar, so that didn't help. The electric version of these planes won't go through the vibrations of a glow powered one, so they can take some lightening of the airframe and not worry so much about the durability of the frame.

Jesse

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

Couple of other building screw ups...I hate covering,,but I start on the tail feathers and I do okay with the solid balsa parts, so on to the wing (foam) and I cut out the pieces and start to iron them on and its looking good, so I finish the wing it looks GREAT! then I realize I FORGOT the strapping tape, now I gotta cut strips to match the tape and go over that....then, , never done CA hinges , well once but it didnt work very well,,so I start on them did the elevator, its ok, then on to the rudder, thats good too,, so I start on the ailerons,,spent 2 hours on the rudder ,elevator, and ailerons,,theyre perfect,,except, I forgot to put the linkage in place, its all done now and I will get pics up as soon as its done, purple wing and tail group, the fuse is white , painted,,and tigger is my copilot.........Rog

Alessandro 78

look here

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Pres...1444268/tm.htm

to see my ACE simple series Texan.

Alessandro