GUYS, what is your preferred method of fitting control surfaces [ ailerons / elevators / rudder ] do you use CA or Epoxy glues ? i have allways used epoxy myself but the new model i am doing mentions the use of CA for the hinges supplied which comes in a strip that has to be cut to sizes. also there is talk about FOAM SAFE CA which i dont have this type just the normal CA, these hinges will go into some foam as all wings are foam core . thanks.

use thin ca (pink zap), so i can really penetrate and bond w/ the balsa, ive gotten away with usin medium ca, but dont recommend it....... now if they are pinned ninges, i like to use gorilla glue

the CA i have is the pink Flash Thin, is this safe if it comes into conatct with the foam ? thanks.

Probably Not
If you have a small piece of the foam available - try putting the CA on it - you will know pretty quickly. Don't apply it to the wing foam until you know though.

If the instructions say CA for the supplied hinges, they just might be right about that. If "the talk about foam safe CA" is in those instructions, that is worth following too.

I don't know of any ARF that has provided CA hinges and then wants them installed with epoxy. Matter of fact, have you ever seen that done anywhere? But you have a sensible observation. And ARF manufacturers really haven't shown perfect understanding of our hobby. They make beautiful and for the most part well made stuff, but almost always have one or two flaws in their work.

Foam wings usually have sufficiently deep wood TEs. Foam won't hold hinges that are epoxied in any better than it would hold CA hinges, whether or not the foam stood up to CA. So most wings with foam cores have decent trailing edges.

What to do? Find out how deep your TEs are. Or buy some foam safe CA. Or better..................

Buy some good quality plastic hinges like Dubro makes and use Hinge Glue. Darned if this new hinge glue makes gluing in "real hinges" a snap. It's as easy as doing CA hinges, and almost as fast. And it holds the hinge to the TE like epoxy without ANY of the fuss and bother epoxying in hinges give us. So the hinge will be anchored as strongly as the TE is going to provide, CA hinge or not.

What is the model? ARF???

BTW, my preferred method for most is a good quality CA hinge if good quality came with the ARF. But I almost always use one Dubro hinge in the rudder if it's carrying a tail wheel load even if I'm using CA hinges everywhere else. And truth is, using Dubros with hinge glue is so bloody easy and bulletproof that the really good ARFs I know will be around awhile get their CA hinges swapped out for the plastic. Hinge glue is awesome stuff. And the good quality plastic hinges have been awesome from day one, just a real pita to epoxy in. New technology really is good stuff sometimes.

freeair what model is it? Some types of foam can be made with CA like the multiplex models.

Actually the CMPro Corsair has in the manual :

"Be sure to apply instant type EPOXY glue to both sides of each hinges." (see pic below)

As their English is far from being 100% clear, there was a debate if the EPOXY in bold letters is a mistake or not.

But since there's no wood in trailing edge of the wing (just foam) it could not be en error. It could also be a misprint since there's no instant epoxy that I know of[&:]

Oh jeez.............

No lie..... there is a model that has what looks like CA hinges going directly into FOAM. Amazing. And not very sensible at all. Undoubtedly, it must have worked on more of their stuff than not, but that still isn't very sensible at all.

If they are hinging directly into foam that really is a poor technique. Foam is a very poor material to resist the forces required to flex hinges that are probably somewhat stiffer than the foam will be, even with the possible strength added by the epoxy. The force at the hinge needs to be carried right at the hinge line. Foam won't do that worth spit. Hinges work up and down as well as out, and foam doesn't wear well or resist working worth spit. If the hinges aren't very pliable, the foam will be the weaker of the two. Have you seen any very pliable CA hinges that were still strong? Heck, just seen any very pliable CA hinges!

Nope, there ain't no such thing as instant epoxy. So the probability is that they meant some other kind of instant glue. And if that's the case and they didn't recommend foam safe CA, then they best use foam that can at least stand CA without melting.

Foam really won't hold small areas glued directly to it. It's main strength is in area. Reduce the area and you wind up with little or no stregth. Even if you added a thin plywood TE cap to the wing to keep the hinges from working up and down, the hinge would still have to be very well glued to the TE cap to have much hope of staying attached to the airplane for very long.

If you are building the CMPro Corsair, you'd best solve that situation on your own. I have no doubt the CMPro design (if you figure out what glue to use and happen to choose one that doesn't cause damage) would work for awhile. Do you buy your models with the expectation that they aren't built to last. They might not, but they still shouldn't be designed with little hope of it.

Do their instructions not explain wicking the glue into the previously inserted hinges? That's how CA type hinges are glued. And epoxy doesn't wick worth spit. Their picture also gives the impression you'd apply the instant glue and then insert the hinges, at least one side. Instant glue doesn't do a job like that worth spit either.

Some mfg's really need experience flying model airplanes.

When foam wings were just starting to appear, people found out fast that foam wasn't really very durable without protection. It needed to be protected from just about everything. I think the experienced builders/flyers who tried foam wings actually never even considered or tried to glue hinges into the foam. I know I never saw plans for any hinged parts that didn't have wood to support the hinges. The TEs were either deep enough or there were balsa inserts where the hinges went.

That's pretty amazing.

Back in the day, modelers had to learn how they were doing as builders from their crashes and structural failures. Today we don't have that opportunity with ARFs. But we still have to learn what works and how to build ARFs that will last as long as we will need them to last.

Same hobby, but with different stuff to learn.

guys, the model in question regarding the CA hinges / CA glue is a Great Planes REVOLVER. i would say the trailing edges do have some balsa but theres no way of telling how deep and i cant risk the CA going into some foam if the precut slots are abit deep.

Great Planes is an experienced model company. They should be dependable in their assembly instructions. They probably would not have you hinging into only foam. If their ARF comes with CA hinges and the instructions describe using CA, then they probably know what they're instructing you to do.

The airplane cost how much? If you're worried about the foam, then foam safe CA costs how much?

If you can't bring yourself to trust the depth of the TE wood, then step your response up and go with Dubro hinges http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXD941&P=ML and hinge glue http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCX67&P=ML

You will have excellent hinging with excellent longevity that are as easy to install as the CA hinges. With the hinge glue and the holes in flats of those hinges, you won't even need to pin them. Honest, the combination of hinge and glue is excellent. And no problem with the foam.

thanks for this info [ da rock ] just to be safe i will go for these dubro hinges. the instruction booklet that came with this model only states CA glue with no mention of foam safe CA this has been my concern. thanks.