Hi All....

I noticed that on my new Four Star 60 ARF that the ailerons and other control surfaces are not tapered to a point on the aft edge. Does this seem strange to you? Is it the same for the kit version? Every plane I've ever had has had tapered aileron stock.

Mine are tapered, but to aprox 1/16" square on the trailing edge....................[8D]

Hi jbflier,

Was your 4*60 a kit build???... I just looked on the picture on the box on the ARF, and indeed the airlerons are untapered in section. I guess was some cost cutting measure on the ARF?

I'm considering peeling the covering off of these, shaping them more aerodynamically, and recovering.... but what a pain!

dkuklish; I stand corrected.....I just looked and it's my Funtana wing that's tapered. My 4*60 wing is rounded, but I've flown it off water in the summer and snow in the winter for 3 years without incident. They are great airplanes. Sorry about the confusion.........

dkuklish; Mine is an ARF. I'm highly allerigic to CA glues and really can't (shouln't) build anymore............

The kit ailerons are squared, not tapered. Leave them that way, i.e., don't round the trailing edge.

Please look into aliphatic resins, or regular old carpenter's yellow wood glue, and epoxies. These will actually build a great airplane with less mess than CA glues. You have longer set times to allow the repositioning of parts, unlike with the quickness of CA. If you really WANT to build models, there is NO excuse when it comes to adhesives. Hope you're able to rediscover the joy and pride of gluing a kit together, or, taking it to the next level, scratch building your very own design! [8D]

Lachlan

Jeepindog; In about 3 years I hope to retire and have some time to build. Until then, I'll put up with the ARF trends. They just keep on improving to the point where I may have an ARF turbine someday.......................[8D]

The ARFs *are* getting to be pretty well-built. I just bought one two weeks ago. I built four kits last year. Two of them were 4*60s that I did *NOT* taper the trailing edge of the ailerons, per SIG's instructions. If I remember correctly, not only does it make them stronger by having more material there, but it does something to the airflow off the back edges, like reducing flutter.

Lachlan

Correct... You should leave the aileron trailing edge rounded and not tapered to a 1/16" sharpe edge on the Four Star 60 to add strength and prevent flutter. It's the same on the tail surfaces.

Enjoy,

Jim.

I have built three of the 4*60 kits (not arf's) and all were fitted with tapered ailerons. I used 2 inch aileron stock from the hobby shop. I liked the looks and I never had a case of flutter, ever. All were crashed because the stick actuator was doing something stupid I will be building #4 soon.