i am putting together my ARF i recieved today... the book says i need (2) 17-1/2 threaded aileron control rods... i only have one of those.... i am thinking its a typo or something because the distance from my aileron servo and the aileron torque rods are only about 5 1/2 inches and i have (2) 6inch rods.. am i correct on this?

also when i got it and opened the box there is a small crack in the covering and most likely the wood under it ( the excess wood beside the motor mount ( not attached to the motor mount) .. i am not really worried about it since it wont affect the motor at all.. what would be the best way to fix this? piece of tape ontop of some CA? afterall its only a trainer... it doesnt have to be pretty..

I would think you'd need two control rods about that length for your rudder and elevator (17 1/2). They're very close to one another. The two shorter ones are for the ailerons. Then there should be one about 10-12 inches long for the throttle.

That crack in the covering and wood: Is that in the cosmetic balsa nose that goes on both sides of the engine? If it's minor some CA will do it. If it's bigger a little sheet of balsa CA'd on the inside will hold it good. You can iron on a small piece of covering if it's a solid color. If it doesn't bother you, you can CA the covering too (I've done it plenty of times on my beater trainer).

Repairs are pretty easy with a balsa trainer. If it doesn't bother you, fix it. If you're really picky, send it back.

Joe

Joe.. the crack is on the nose of it... its not cracked on the inside of it by the engine just the outside

You could just iron on a piece of covering if the crack is really shallow. Or just use a hobby knife and wick in a little thin CA along the crack. That will make it strong and the covering will stick. You don't want to bump it while you're carrying it around and have it crack all the way through. Whatever you do, don't just use the CA bottle to apply it. It leaks all over the place and makes a mess.

Joe

Problem solved..thank you ..your tip worked great..

NEW PROBLEM.. everything is almost done except.. install motor/throttle/nose stear arm.... on my alierons the left side is alittle tight when i try to move it....i think i may have gotten some CA into the control rod where it comes out the bottom of the wing and connects to the servo.. what can i try to free it up.. it makes the servo "buzz" when it is connected and i finish moving it with the sticks..

The buzzing is normal. There are tons of posts on this and I read them all in a search I did just a week ago. To check for binding, disconnect the control rod at the servo. Then push on the control rod by hand to move your aileron back and forth. If it moves free, don't worry about it. If it does bind (compare it to the other side) then put some CA remover on the area to try and free it up.

Joe

ok .. ill have to order some ca remover.. it is def. binding...

problem solved again (i hope) ..didnt wanna wait a week to get some CA remover so i operated on it.. cleaned out the wood around the rod..scraped the rod real good... put a balsa stick ontop of it ..some balsa shavings around the balsa to fill the gaps .. took a piece of balsa sheeting and 30min epoxied it to the stick and shavings.. oh yea did i mention the piece of magazine i put around the rod to keep the epoxy off of it.. when i get an instructor he is gonna laugh at my plane...LOL.. but its all good .. its just a trainer... i got my eye on a VR-4 when i get my wings

In the future you can also put a little petroleum jelly around the rod before you glue the surroundings. It will keep the epoxy from adhearing. I learned this from my Hanger 9 Ultra Stick 40 manual.

oh cool.. i didnt know that.. i will def. try that next time

Thanks