Hey guys, I finished gluing the ailerons to the wings with my CA hinges, and unfortunately, I realized that the last hinge, nearest the wingtip, has a gap bigger than the rest, and even worse, the CA hinge is saging down a bit, what I mean is if you look at it from the wingtip side into the hinge, the hingeis saging down, not as much to look like a U, but that semicircle shape, how much of a problem is this?

Thanks...a frustrated newbie.

NC

Its not a good thing ! The wide gap or the sagging hinge! If it was mine I would redo them,

of course you could try and fly it and see what problems are evident from it, could get some flutter in that aileron ? could be a problem in trim as that tip will probly travel farther than the rest of the aileron.

just really depends on how far out it is ? if its a slight amount you may not see very much trouble from it at low speeds but as speed increases so will the effects .

Highlander

I agree with Highlander. It could be a serious problem, and could show up in flight as flutter or odd trim problems. Or it might not be an issue at all.

It all depends on just how bad it is. Have someone take a look at it in person, and go from there. If you want to be on the safe side, just cut the hinges and install new ones next to the old ones. It's not that much time or money to redo it, after all.

Thanks...a frustrated newbie.


NC

Dont let the little things frustrate you, save that emotion for really big stuff, like 8 guys on the same freq. when you go to the field to fly!! or windy days when you want to fly but cant, or when your engine decides to become persnickety and wont run right, just count these little building things up to experiance ,

Highlander

Doesn't take much to cut them out and re-do them. Get a great planes hinge cutter. It is one of the best tools ever invented for this hobby. I used to hate doing hinges. Now it is a snap! (boy, do I sound like an advertisment)

This might mean your slots weren't deep enough, and when pressing the parts together, the hinge had to bend when it stopped sliding into the slot.

flianbrian

If it's only the outer most hinge, here's an easy fix:

Run a razor along the TE of the wing and the LE of the aileron to remove whatever hinge is in the gap. Then, make 3 hinges from covering (let us know if you are not familiar with hinged made from covering, and someone here will explain it). Replace the outer hinge with 3 covering hinges, and you'll be good as new.

I agree with Minn here. It'll be easier than replacing all the hinges.

Minn,
You don't have a graphic for this one?
Dennis-

The picture says "use three" but it doesn't clarify that the middle one should go opposite of the other two. In other words, if the first one is on the top of the aileron and the bottom of the wing, the second one goes under the aileron and on top of the wing.

FWIW, on most all my combat planes, I do all the hinges using packing tape and the technique above. I do three sets of three, one at the root, one at the tip, and one set mid-span. I then run a strip of 2" wide tape over the hinge line on top, with the aileron held at full down, then flip the aileron to full up and repeat on the bottom. It creates a strong, totally gapless easy hinge that works well and is really really fast to install. I also usually bevel the ailerons on one side, and hinge along the top surface rather than in the middle as in that picture. It doesn't seem to matter in the air which way it's done.

'Course I do...

I just didn't have time to explain that day.

Thanks for pointing that out Montague. I missed it in my haste to make up the graphics to show it!

Minn,
I should have realized that you had one. And a much better one to boot! I was so excited to be able to create one that I rushed it a bit. :stupid:
Dennis-