Gary, the wheel pants look great. I am going to order some H9 fiberglass pants. I like the ones that came with my FuntanaS. Just need to figure out which size. I know someone in this thread mentioned the size, but I need to look back.

On another subject, upon inspection of the wind root and the fuse it appears there are holes ready and waiting for the nylon bolt mod that has been used by many on this thread. Were these holes always there or are they something new to this round of planes coming off of VF's assembly line? Just curious. Don' remember anyone mentioning the holes already being there. Ron

I started my assembly late last night. One thing I am doing is applying very thin CA to all surfaces of the wing joint system. Not the areas that will be apoxied, but the parts that will be slipped together time and again when putting the wings on. This will fuel proof and harden the area without adding any real thickness. I then sanded it with wet/dry sand paper to make it super smooth so the joint will go together very easily. Not much of a modification, but the joint should stay in great shape forever.

Never mind about the holes. Those are for the dowl. I should have looked closer before posting. Ron

My photo was actually on Page 166 of Febs issue. The photo was titled as "Part of the Flightline". Very tiny photo, and probally some of the Club Members who know me are probally trying to figure out who those small shapes in that photo are of................................................ ....................................Here is how I should have been properly honored though. Just check out the photo below!LOL

Has anyone not used the dowl and just the nylon bolt mod?

I think I would make sure the dowel was in there. If something were to happen during flight, and VF knew that you had left the dowel out intentionally, they may be less likely to help even if something were to fail that could be attributed to the way it was built at the Factory. That way if a joiner were to fail, or a wing would warp bad, you could at least say that you built it the way that the instructions said to. Then anything you can do on top of what the manufacturer suggest to add strength to the Plane without adding to much additional weight would probally be looked at as a good thing by the Manufacturer. Also I doubt that I would trust the Trailing edge of my wing to two nylon bolts alone. Gary's mod basically helps to create a snug fit between the fuse and the wings, and to also help to insure that the Trailing edge cannot come off the dowel. Just my .02 anyway for what it is worth!

I agree, I will use both.

Yes we have snow but its melting fast[8D] Thinking in about 2 weeks i'll be back to flying. Have not flown sense late october[&o]. I have cnecked this thread everyday and have ALL the stuff ready and waiting so i can start on it this afternoon. Servos will be JR DS811 digi's. Magnum 91XLS, With pitts muffler,2000mah nimh, I'll be using the stock wheel pants. I think they will hold up fine with a little ply in them for mounts. Gonna start with a 15x5 prop and go from there. Love that it came with a 14oz fuel tank.Tossing the control horns and gonna use robart horns and some sulivan ball links tossing the supplied tail wheel also. The stock wheels are gone also, got some dubro low bounce tires. Polished spinner, tinting the canopy. Should be ready to go sunday

Ron, glad to hear that you are going to use both the dowel and nylon bolt mod. The nylon bolts will ensure a secure and gapless joint between the wing and the fuselage. The additional weght added by this mod is nothing compared to the added security it will provide. If you have any questions regarding the nylon bolt mod, you can PM me or e-mail me at any time. I will be more than willing to provide any assistance.

Bank Yank, that is quite an impressive list of equipment you have there. One question though: Did you purchase those JR DS811's just for this plane? Standard servos work exceptionally well on the ailerons and throttle. I used Futaba 9202's for the elevator and rudder, but I know others have used standard servos all the way around with great success. With the Magnum 91XLS up front, you may want to consider an alternate battery choice. I think that a 1000-1400 mah pack will be more than enough. You have to consider the added weight of the larger pack. Just my thought. I like the polished spinner idea. As soon as I get more down time, I plan on polishing my landing gear and spinner.

Ray, I like your proposed cover to Model Aviation. You get my support on that one...LOL

Which is right thrust? To the right or from the right?

B.

Jon, think of it in relation to the airplane as if you were in the pilot's seat.

ez2bgman. The servos i allready had laying around. The battery is not enough weight to worry about being Nimh now if i were going with Nicad that would be a different story. I dont need unlimited vertical altho i do belive the 91 will hover it. Might not pull out fast but it does not need to for me. Well off to start the wing joiner!!

Gary, I would appreciate the instructions on the nylon bolt mod. I remember reading it in earlier posts, but can't remember exactly. My plane should be coming in about 3 weeks, so I can start gathering the parts....Thanks.

Gary,

Well my assembly is off to a crappy start. I epoxied the center wing joiner piece this AM, no problem. This PM I wanted to do the wing joiners that attach to the center joiner. Well I don't have a piece of 1/4" dowel anywhere in the kit or in the house. I also didn't get the 1/4 x 20 nylon wing bolts listed in the parts list. Fortunately I have some of those in my field box. I'm thinking of using bolts on both sides of the center joiner, just epoxy one side. I also note that no nuts for the 1/2 x 20 nylon bolts are listed in the parts list. I guess nylon nuts are ok?

I wonder if a bag of hardware fell out of the hole in my delivery box. I have one baggy that appears to have most of the hardware I can think of that I need but no 1/4x20 bolts (or nuts) and no 1/4" dowels.

Nathan, do a complete inventory and then shoot an email to VF. They should be able to help you get the missing parts.

Jon, I too didn't have any 1/4" dowel so I used what I had. I believe I had 3/8" dowel and then I just drilled the holes out to accept it. The nylon bolts weren't even on my parts list. I think that is a new addition in response to my nylon bolt mod. For the center joiner, the right side should be epoxied together as explained and the left side slides on the smaller center joiner and bolts on with steel bolts, washers, lock washers, and wing nuts. As Luke stated, shoot them an e-mail an I guarantee that they will send the necessary hardware ASAP. Explain the hole that was in the box. I cannot remember if I had 2 bags of hardware.

Grelker, here are the instructions and pics (the first three) from my other post:

"I had no gap to start with. If you scroll back to one of my early posts on the first page, there is a pic there of the gapless wing/fuselage joint. You could take a 66" long straight edge and line up my leading edges. I just didn't want any gap to develop from the stresses these planes will be put through during hard aerobatics.

Here are some pics of the nylon bolt mod that I did to hold the trailing edge in tight. It didn't take much time and next to nothing in cost to do it. I used 1/2" dowel and cut 2 pieces an inch in length. I then drilled and tapped it for 1/4-20 nylon bolts. I then located an area about an inch behind the dowel for the wing and drilled it out to accept the 1/2" dowel. Before I drilled the 1/2" hole, I drilled a starter hole with a 1/8" bit. Stuck a small piece of toothpick in it and slid the wings into position. The toothpick marked the spot on the fuselage for the nylon bolt to pass through. This way there was no guessing or complicated measurements to make. After this step, I drilled the 1/2" hole in the root rib for the threaded dowel. I applied some Elmers Wood Glue and inserted the dowel flush with the root rib. The fit was just snug enough that I had to lightly tap it in. I then applied thin CA to the dowel face and threads. I drilled the holes in the fuselage for the 1/4-20 nylon bolts. I then made two plywood doublers and epoxied them inside the fuselage over the hole for the nylon bolts for added strength. I probably didn't need the doublers, but as they say "better to have and not need, than to need and not have..." Now there is nothing short of full contact with the ground that can cause my wings to develop a gap from the fuselage.

Here are a few pics of the belly pan mod that I did too. Actually, it is some pics of the blind nuts in the fuselage.

By the way, you can see an additional hole in the fuselage between the dowel and the nylon bolts. I had originally drill straight through the fuselage side and root rib and just threaded the nylon bolts in. I didn't think the root ribs would be able to handle the stresses. That is when I redid them using the current method.

Hope these tips are useful. "

Jon, the last pic is of the completed wing with the joiners epoxied in and bolted together.

I don't recall the edge ever having nylon bolts in the part list. Mine has steel bolts and butterfly wingnuts that attach the wings together, and I think I also supplied my own little piece of dowel. I don't think that came with the Plane, but I may be mistaken on that. The only Nylon Bolts on my Edge are the ones that I supplied myself to be able to complete Gary's Mod. Maybe they changed something since my Plane, but my Plane required no Nylon Bolts anywhere!

This is Jon. Who's Nathan?

Gary, Your Edge didn't have 1/4x20 wing bolts listed? This is not your nylon bolt mod wing mod because it's not shown anywhere else on the instructions.

They show one side of the center wing joiner epoxied and the other side bolted. The instructs don't say what bolts to use. They do say to drill the holes in the joiners out to 1/4", so I assume that's where the 1/4x20 bolts go, because it's the only place 1/4 dia. holes are discussed.

No wing nuts supplied or listed.

It's not worth calling them for a piece of 1/4" dowel and a couple of nylon bolts. I can just go to local hardware store and get fixed up.

Got the engine mount installed for test fitting. Put 1 #6 flat washer behind the mount on the left side bolts. My calculations said this will give about 1.5 deg. of right thrust.

Gary, thanks for the details, btw, my name is Jon N. feel free to use it. thanks again.

The 1/4X20 wing bolts you are refering to are supposed to be steel as you can see pictured above in one of Gary's photos. I beg you please do not use Nylons in the wing joiner. The instructions I have show regular nuts on the wing bolts, but mine came with the wing nuts instead. This must have been a change that they made after the instructions were printed. The ONLY nylon bolts on my whole Plane are the ones I added back behind the dowel that the trailing edge of the wing slides on. This was a mod thought up by Gary, and was not part of the Manufactures instructions. The Nylons work good to draw surfaces together, and to help keep the wing from moving at the trailing edge, but the Wing Joiner would act just like a shear with the nylons installed. I believe that if Nylons were used in the Main Joiner they would shear right in half the first time you started doing snaps or high 'G' Loops! Please study Gary's photos carefully. He did a very good job showing how each finished step should look. You will see no Nylon Bolts in his Plane except for the two behind the 1/2" Dowel that the Trailing edge of the Wing slides onto.

We have a Jon, a Jon, and a Ron? Man this is going to get confusing? LOL What if Jon ask Ron something about Jon, but Jon thinks Ron is talking about the other Jon, who in turn tells the other Jon that he and Ron thought that Jon knew which Jon he was talking about to Ron! .......................Wow, that just hurts my head saying it!

Never mind. I found them. There is a note to such in the instructions. Dumb me.

I had no 1/4 dowel in my box either. The nylon 1/4x20 bolt is shown in the instructions part list, but its use is never mentioned in the sparse instructions. Not sure what it would be used for. My box did include the metal bolts, washers, and wingnuts for the the wing joiner assembly. I finshed my wing joiner and the nylon bolt mod this evening. I used the 1/2 dowel method and tapped the dowel for the nylon bolts. Worked great. All went well on putting the joiners in the wings except it appears that during my dry fitting of the joiners into the wing I scrored the covering inside enough that when I applied the apoxy and did the final assembly the apoxy (30 minute variety) stained the covering. Now I have a dark line on the white underside of my right wing. Be careful when you are dry fitting. Before you start sliding the joiner in and out make sure you round the leading corners. I did this, but obviously not enough. I will cover the unsightliness with my Checkerboard anyway, but it is the principle of the matter.

Did you all soak your plastic parts in hot water the way the instructions say. How hot was you water. No problems with warping? Please let me know if I should watch for something unexpected. Thanks. Ron

Jon, I apologize for the name mix up. I got Nathan, aka rcfury, and you, aka rcjon, mixed up because I was in a hurry on that posts. My kids started fighting and I didn't want to lose my train of thought. Sorry about that. By all means, DO NOT use nylon bolts in the joiners. The joiners take the most stress in the wing and you want something stronger than nylon to hold them together. If necessay, run to the hardware store and pick up some 1/4x20 steel bolts, regular washers, lock washers, and wing nuts.

Jon N., aka Grelker, no problem bro. It is a very easy mod to do and you may already have the parts need (1/2"-5/8" dowel and 2 - 1/4x20 nylon bolts). If you follow the steps I took, it is very easy to perform and everything lined up on the first try. I think the key to aligning everything was, after locating a suitable spot on the root ribs for the dowel, drilling a small pilot hole first and using the toothpick to line up the hole for the fuselage. Keep track of the thread and let us know when you get your plane.

If ANYONE needs any assistance don't hesitate to e-mail me directly at [email protected]. Then we can swap numbers and talk one on one if needed. I am always available to help out fellow VF brothers.

Until later...

Ron, yes I soaked the parts in hot water per the instructions. The water wasn't scolding hot, just hot enough to hold my hand under for a couple of seconds. According to Chuck at VF, it helps make the plastic less brittle.