err.. thats supposed to mean 6 one inch basswood strips

Well RC and EZ, you both have giving me a good project for tommorrow. Now I better get off this Computer before you throw out to many more ideas, and then I won't be able to sleep thinking about them.

hi fellas ,I bought my vf edge 6 months ago when they had a sale on them .I haven't started on it yet but have been reading the posts with great interest.Garys method of attaching wing looks to be top notch.
I had 3 planes to finish and one to repair but am almost ready to start on the edge.I will be putting a 0s 91 surpass 2 on it.should be enough power.I am not a 3d pilot.This will only be my 2nd arf.I am currently flying a big bingo ;robinhood and a spacewalker.Iwill have a 4 star 60 rtf by weeks end.Then onto the edge.Keep the ideas coming.

ken

Well guys,

I am honored that you think that I have some good ideas. That is why this thread was started. So that we can get out as many good ideas as possible to help others with their build.

I am always looking at new ways to improve my planes. I welcome anyone's idea/suggestion, no matter how minor you may think it is. I am sure that more people have other suggestions to do different things. Post them here. Almost everyone reading this thread can find a way to utilize one of these ideas. Most of these suggestions are not plane specific. They can be used on many planes.

I just hope that this thread has been able to answer someone's question on how to do something. If someone has been able to put one of these ideas to use, than the thread has done what I intended it to.

Thanks again for everyone's contribution and I look forward to keeping this thread alive. I will be continually posting updates and pics as I go along. Later guys.

Gary...stop modding and start flying! I can't wait to hear your maiden flight report. If it's anything like your build posts, it will be an excellent read. Now get out to the field and put that baby in the air!

Luke,

I have to repair the hinges before I even think about flying. If all goes well, the hinges and pinned firewall mod will be done tonight. And, weather permitting, I may be able to maiden her when I get off work tomorrow afternoon. I am just as eager to get her in the air as everyone else is. Actually, I think you are more eager for me to fly the Edge than I am. I just hope that I can get a cameraman out there with me tomorrow. If not, you guys will just have to settle on some more ground shots of before and after the flight. But rest assured that I will have a detailed flight report on every aspect of the planes behavior during flight.

Now I need everyone to hope for clear skies and I should have the maiden flight report by tomorrow evening.

Hey guys go get youself some of the heavy duty plastic wheel pants that sig makes for the something extra. You have to put them together but will have a set of wheel pants that last forever. I got a pair for my VF extra after the stock wheel pants went into the trash can. They only cost around 7.00 and any hobby store can order them for you. I just CA'ed them together and then cut out the opening for the wheel with a dremel. I then used a 1 inch wide strip of fiberglass cloth and 30 minute epoxy on the inside of the joint. Scuff them up with steel wool or fine grit sandpaper and paint. These pants have lasted hundereds of flights on 2 different planes. Go to sigs web site and type in keyword wheelpants and you will get several options.

Rick

Duct tape would have that baby ready to go in no time! LOL

Thanks for the tips Rick!

Well I got the 4-40 Blind nuts installed for the Belly Pan, and used 1/2" 4-40 Allen Head Bolts. Much better I must say! I still need to get the mod done for the wings which hopefully will go as smooth as the belly pan mod. Good Tips!

On the wing mod I will probally just use a Blind Nut and Bolt on that to. With the way the wings are designed even if the plastic bolts were to shear during a crash, I believe the Wings would be pretty well destroyed anyway due to the hard Ply Spars being joined together by a hard bolt. The wings will surely bust before you bust a spar. The Only way I can see where the Plastic Ones would do good at the Trailing edge is if you used Plastic Ones with the metal wing nuts on the main spar also. Then you may get lucky and the plastic bolts would just shear in both locations instead of the wings being ripped to shreds due to the rigid spar.

I wanted to come back and add in case someone took my last statement as recommending Nylon Bolts in the main spar instead of the metals. I WOULD NOT recomend using Nylons in the main spar. In my opinion they would shear of instantly in a high G manuver. I was just saying that the wing is rigid within the fuse anyway, so making it rigid at the trailing edge would be about the same deal. If VF thought it was good to use Nylons instead of the steel, I am sure they would have done that. Just wanted to make myself clear so VF don't get a bunch of complaints about wings shearing off due to something I may have said.

HAHAHA You had me wondering about your sanity for a moment there Ray! LOL[sm=lol.gif]

I probally do suffer from some mild brain damage brought on by my head getting baked in my Hard Hat in the hot sun from my job working construction in the summer, but it not baked enough to where I would use nylons in the main spar. I was trying to get across that this would be the only way for the wings to shear from the Plane during a crash, but they would surely shear and cause the crash to begin with. After I posted my first comments, I read it, and it read like I was recommending nylons instead of the steels. So I figured I better hurry and correct myself even though most people would know better than to try this anyway!

My reasoning for adding the nylon bolt near the trailing edge of the wing into the fuselage was to prevent any gap from forming. I went through many dry fitting sessions to ensure that I had no gap at the wing-fuselage joint before I epoxied the joiners in. But due to the high G forces that these planes will be subjected to, the wings could begin to rock back and forth and create a gap. Chuck, from VF, and I discussed this issue in detail. He expressed some minor concern that since there was nothing but the dowel to keep the wings straight, the stresses from aerobatic flight could cause a gap to form. After this discussion, I decided to try to see if I could make it work.

Here is the e-mail I received from Chuck:

"Dear Gary:

Thank you for your reply. Very happy to know that you are reinforcing the joiners. We are also looking into substituting one set of joiners (the rear set) with birch ply, which is heavier but stronger. Again thanks for taking the time to inspect and reinforce them.

Your idea of bolted together smaller joiners at the rear is very good. Most times the gap is reported towards the rear and this would take care of it by pulling in the wing roots near the trailing edge. However very rarely we have received reports of a gap towards the middle of the wing root! In all our assemblies or test airplanes, we have never run across this gap, so we don't really know what could be causing it. So we have to design something which is more accommodative of a not perfect job. Instead of the current dowel, we could also use a 1/4 inch dia nylon screw into each root to hold in the trailing edges. It is probably better than letting the wing free from near the trailing edge as is currently. Hopefully we will have a consensus here very soon and it will probably be a combination of both your and our suggested fixes. In fact maybe with just the dowel, the wing might be subject to some front and back rocking. Therefore it probably will be a good idea to secure the trailing edges also. If you have already epoxied the dowel, you may want to drill a hole just behind it or in front of it, and positively secure the wing root from near the trailing edge. Although we do not know for sure that it will be beneficial, but it cannot possibly hurt! Other than taking a small amount of extra installation and removal time.

Best regards and great flying!

Chuck"

Hope this help with any questions concerning the wing-fuselage gap dilemma.

Later.

Actually from the sounds of it from VF that using the nylong bolts in the rear was a pretty good idea instead of the dowel. So maybe i did make a good decision. Granted from way it is designed i dont think a gap could form near the middle of the wing unless the epoxy gave way a little in the wing. Which i highly doubt.
Also it sounds like you reinforced the joiner as well. I smeared a good amount of epoxy all around the joiner near the root of each wing. Should keep it from splitting if there was micro cracks in the wood from mfg.

Here's another update.

I cut out the CA hinges in the wings/ailerons and replaced them with Robart Hinge Points. I used 5 Hinge Points per wing. It may be a bit overkill, but with the power of the Saito 120 up front, I would rather be safe than sorry.

rcfury, at first I did just the nylon bolt into the root ribs. I wasn't sure if the ribs could handle any stress back there so that is why I used the nylon bolts-in-the-dowel design. Let us know how well the bolts into the root ribs alone hold up.

Gotta get some sleep. Later guys.

Hi Gary. The edge has top-hinged ailerons right? How far below the top edge of the wing/aileron did you drill the holes for the Robarts? I am putting them in my Extra as well but have never used them in a top-hinged configuration. Seems like it will be difficult to get them lined up properly, so any hints or tips you have would be much appreciated.

Drop down about 1/16" from the top of the aileron to start your hole. Make sure you drill downward at an angle into the "meat" of the aileron stock. Use the same angle on the trailing edge as well. Use 30 minute Epoxy or something similar to install them and don't forget to put something like vaseline on the hinge pin to keep the glue from seeping in and freezing it. You should be able to get about a 1/16" minimal gap when finished. And as always, dry fit first. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.[8D]

Well I got the Trailing edge mod done this morning on the edge. I went ahead and used the nylon bolt suggestion. I quickly found out that you can't see good enough in there and my fingers are to big to be using those little 4-40 bolts in there. The nylons worked out great. The wing is tight to the fuse all the way around, and super strong. Now I have to put it back on the C.G meter though. I moved a few things around in the belly while messin with it this morning. I just can't leave well enough alone sometimes.lol

Awww shucks! Now I am gonna have to do the trailing edge mod too. Keep up with the Jones's! For as little time as it takes, I can see it being well worth the effort. Another point for Gary and his Ace-in-the-Hole mods![sm=greedy.gif]

Thanks for the info Luke. I have put the robarts into the rudder and elevator and they turned out great. If I drill 1/8 holes 1/16th down from the top edge of the aileron and the trailing edge of the wing, that implies that the head of hinge will actually be above the top edge of the hinge. Am I understanding this correctly? When I did the elevator and rudder, I installed the hinge into the trailing edge of the surface and left the head of the hinge exposed to the point that the hinge could be flexed 90 degrees in both directions. I then installed into the leading edge of the control surface and gently persuaded the head of the hinge into the control surface, thus creating the required recess. I ended up with a gap of probably less than 1/16, actually just enough to allow the designed 45 degree travel in either direction. Do I approach the aileron in the same fashion? I would think that even after creating the recess, the head of the hinge will be clearly visible from a top view of the wing?
Thanks again for your patience and assistance. I don't want to screw this up.....

rk,

I did everything exactly as Primodus described it above. One thing that makes drilling the holes alot easier is the use of a Dremel with a 1/8" bit. The Dremel allows the precision needed to get the proper angle and depth. Once you have the holes drilled in the aileron and the wing, you can actually widen each hole at the very front (no more than 1/16"-1/8" inside the hole) to allow the hinge to sit deeper inside. I did this to both the aileron and the wing. By doing this, you can get the recommended gap of 1/16" and still have complete travel in both directions. Also by widening the entrance to holes and allowing the hinge to sit almost flush, the hinge is almost unnoticeable when viewed from the top. Just be extremely careful while drilling the ailerons holes. If you have too steep of an angle you can drill right through the covering (don't ask how I know this ). Like Primodus, I used 30 minute epoxy. After it cured I performed a stress test and nothing short of an axe will take these ailerons off.

Luke, you don't have to do the wing-fuselage mod that I suggested. Be creative and come up with your own... I would strongly suggest that something be done to hold the trailing edge to the fuselage though.

Looks like the weather is holding up so far. I may actually be able to get out for the maiden flight this afternoon. But as we all know, mother nature doesn't like me. Watch it turn to crap just as I get off work and load up the Edge.

Ahh, when in Rome... If it works, go with it. You have an easy to install and maintain idea, and I'm lazy.


Nah, the weather will be perfect. Gotta think positive bro![8D]

What did I say about mother nature....

The winds are starting to pick up quite a bit with the approaching cold front. It is on the verge of being too windy for a maiden with the Edge. Now I would take my US40 out in these winds in a heart beat. I love flying the US40 in some wind. Makes it more interesting and alot more fun to activate "crow".

I am still trying to remain positive about the weather. I'll keep you posted.

Later