Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

Some recent postings about CA hinges failing. Vote yes or no if this has ever happened to you and if so what brand they were (if you know) and how they failed (i.e. cracked, ripped, pulled out of surface, etc)

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

Sig CA hinges on my LT-40.

Elevator hinges started ripping apart after about 350 flights. This was with an OS 61FX and about 250 of those flights were flown as hard as I could fly it.

Yup- they DO fail. But you really gotta beat the heck out of them first. :D

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

Sig CA hinge: pulled off w/ both elevators completely: GP Cap 21 40 size. 30 flights. Crashed

Kangke Cap 120's furnished CA hinge: after 30 flights pulled 2 out of 4 hinges on right aileron, landed in weeds w/o damage. After 20 flights, 2 out of 4 hinges on rudder broke, detected on ground. Now rudder gets all Robart point hinges, rest of surfaces has pins thru CA hinges.

I hate CA hinges now, also because they add resistance to moving surface deflection. They tend to break on rudder if you use pull-pull or if tail wheel is not spring-dampened.

Going into hard balsa makes a poor bond, while going into soft balsa makes a weak support, unless pinned.

So don't use CA hinges on rudder, and pin them on the rest.

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

14 years and 50+ aerobatic aircraft,no failures.
From what I have read,it seems GP Ca hinges have had more problems than other brands.I don't include pulled out hinges,because it may often be the builder,or type of wood and or glue etc ,used. I bought a used model once,and I was able to move some of the hinges.New ca's and a proper gluing made this set up strong and reliable again.Years ago,I was training some people,and lost my Midwest Malibu trainer in a very violent crash.Even though the airframe was rekitted,the CA's held perfectly:)

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

Sig LT-40 ..... 2 elevator hinges broke after 1 Year and 99 flights.

Sig LT-40 #2..... 2 elevator hinges broke after 11 months and 110 flights.

Sig Four*60.....2 outer right aeilron hinges broke after 1 month and 14 flights.
Airplane crashed and destroyed.

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

Great Planes hinges pulled out on my Extra 300 Aileron.
I suspect it was my fault though. Not enough CA when installing
them. I hate it when the CA runs all over my nice new covering.
But then I have also had Robart and other hinges pull out or break,
especially some of the flat plastic ones that come in some of the
ARF's.

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

I added two more options to show if hinges ripped/tore or pulled out of slot. new voters can select multiple options. if you voted already you cannot change or edit your vote

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

CA hinges are great for 60 and under size planes. When moving into 1/4 scale and above, go for more substance and strength. My $.02

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

I personally don't trust them after I lost the elevator on my 40 sized Diabolo to them, and the rudder on my CMPRO swallow.

They're nasty, relying on CA to hang on to a big control surface???

You've gotta have rocks in your head!

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

I was lucky, after about 60 flights on my Hanger 9 Ultra Stik 60, I took off and two other people were flying (could not hear my plane). When I made my first turn after takeoff, something did not feel right! I landed and thought I was checking the plane out found nothing. Took off again and made two circuits around the field, still did not have the elevator response that I thought I should have. Landed again called myself checking the plane, everything alright!!. Took off again, and by this time everybody else had landed, and I could hear my plane and I heard that dreaded BRRRRRRRR! sound, as I say I was lucky. I landed and found two out of three Ca hinges on one elevator was broke in the joint.

Moral of the story is when you fly a plane and know how it should fly, when it feels different don't keep flying, check it out!!!!!

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

Thats not really fair to post a question like that. If you asked "has anyone had problems with Futabe servos?" The answer will be yes. They are for the most part good servos. After 15 + years of flying I have had some CA hinges fail and Futaba servos fail and JR servos fail and GP motor mounts fail and Du-bro wheels fail and OS plugs failect.......ect...........ect.... I have also had a robart Hinges fail. I think CA hinges take a bad rap. Most of the failures can be linked to improper instalation. I would hate to think a newby would never use them because of a post like this.

David

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

The rudder hinges (CA) on my DP Extra failed after about 100 flights. All hinges broke in half. I don't use CA hinges any more - not worth risking an expensive model on cheapy hinges.

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

The only hinges to have failed me were the ones I improperly installed, i.e. the slots holding the hinges were not parallel and/or centered. Hinges I later learned to properly install have not failed me.

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

I use Sig easy hinges on everything up to 1/4 scale. To date I have never had a problem. I have seen others who have had CA hinges fail, but I don't know what brand thet were using. One thing I have seen that is of concern to me is people with ARF's following the instructions that say to glue them into one surface, let them dry and then fit the control surface and glue. I have personally seen one aircraft where the owner did this and and they pulled out of the spar (the second glue up). Once you have applied CA to the hinge it wicks through the whole hinge, so the second joint doesn't take.

Unfortunately people correctly following the instructions are putting their planes at risk. Just my thoughts on the matter.

Alan

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

CA hinges have a personality and there is a learning curve to installing them properly. For example do not attempt to make the hinge line too tight. That will only put undue stress on the hinge at high angles of deflection. It is much better to see a little daylight there and then plan on sealing that up later. Also, any CA left on the hinges can become very sharp and cut the hinge. I stumbled upon an excellent way to clean this up. Using a few drops of CA solvent or acetone and a toothbrush, deflect the surface all the way and clean any CA from the hinge. The solvent will not penetrate into the cured CA in the slot, honest. This makes CA hingles deflect smoothly with very little drag. Also, if the hinge is the type that does not have a slot in the middle, drill a small hole in the center of the slot in the wood to make sure that the CA penetrates all the way in to the bottom of the cut.

Ernie

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

I have had CA and pinned hinges break, I don't mean ripped out. For anyone not to have failed means that they either haven't flown much or fly very docile slow flights.

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

This is one of the few times that I will disagree with how a poll is worded. Not because of the results of the poll, though the results are what I would have expected them to be given the wording. I recently began a thread on the following topic.

CA Hinges in gassers - Hinge failure

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/CA_H...1330399/tm.htm

The thread specifically focused on the use of CA hinges in larger gas powered airplanes. The purpose of the thread was to assist those newer pilots who are moving up to, or thinking about moving up to a gas powered airplanes. In my comments I stated that until my second gas project with CA hinges, I too had never had a hinge fail. I also stated that more experienced pilots with 20 and 30 years experience had stated the same. A pilot moving to gas engines for the first time could be mislead by this poll. IMHO CA hinges are fine for the right engine and airplane combo. I for one will never again use CA hinges in a gas powered airplane. I too had thought the problems I had read about were simply due to installation errors. I now strongly feel differently about this. In my case, the hinges used were the stock CA hinges that came with the kit. This has nothing to do with slot or control rod alignment problems. It had nothing to do with UV rays or exhaust fumes. The model had only been flown four times. frankly, I feel that vibration had more to do with the failure than anything, but we will never know for sure. I now realize there are better alternatives such has Kletts Flexpoints, Robart Hinge Points and Dubro pinned hinges rather than using any CA hinge in a larger gas powered airplane. Like I said in the thread, you can ignore or pay attention to the experience gained by learning the hard way. Ignore it and it's only a matter of time until this one will bite you. Do the research yourself. Read the comments from the above thread or from others.

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

Had the CA hinges on my MW Little Cap break and one CA hing pull loose this year. Replaced them all with nylon pinned hinges.
NEDYOB

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

YES,

Sig's hinges and the "no name" brand that come with some of the ARF's have failed on me.

I've even resorted going back to the "Flex-Point" hinges that are basically fail proof, albeit a pain to install when compare to the CA one's.

Don't understand how some of you have good luck with them. Your probably a lot easier on the sticks.... ;) I know I always have max throw, and seldom is the left radio stick in the lower position... :D

Gary

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

I had ca-hinges fail in the rudder and elevators on a Hanger 9 Ultra Stick 120 . It has a brisson 2.4 gas engine on it. I landed one time with only ONE hinge left on the elevator. After that repair failed again I started using Robart hinges on EVERY THING. I don't have anything under 84 " wing span except the reliable Ultra Stick wich is 78".

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

re: CA hinges.
I never use the supplied CA hinges. I use radio south CA hinges 1/4 scale size, they are blue in color. No failures with these hinges.

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

I don't think any meaningful information can be gathered this way. For many years CA hinges have been clearly demonstrated to work. They've also been shown to fail. It should be obvious the hinges themselves aren't to blame. Installation methods vary widely, and models are flown and handled in such a wide range that these other variables need to be considered more than the hinges themselves. Somebody's elevators blow off following a high-speed shallow dive accompanied by a buzzing sound. Bad hinges? no way.
I'd say maybe the real problem is that it's very easy to think they're installed OK but you can't see if it's true. Other hinge styles are more obviously messed up, and so get fixed before test flights.
When my first Hog-Bipe was totaled, there were unbroken Sig Easyhinges that had pulled the wood out of the ailerons. I've had them fail, but at the same moment, the propeller, spinner, landing gear, wings, and fuselage all failed too. :D

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

If you put enough CA hinge, like 25% of the entire length, they will definitely last. Problem is most ARF resort to more like 10%, and they may break on 50 deg+ surfaces especially rudder.

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

I recently started using SuperPhatic to glue them in and it seems to leave them more flexible than CA does, you have to give them about 20 minutes to set but they won't pull out after 5. I also prefer it because it doesn't leave a telltale sign if you over do it a little.

RE: Have CA Hinges Ever failed on you? Vote!
 

I've used them for a while now. I like the Dave Patrick ones and the Radio South ones..
I also seal the gaps with covering on the bottom of the surface.. I also use a wax pen across the part that is going to flex. It keeps the CA off that part and it does'nt get brittle there..
Later,
Frank