Hey there,

I am new to this hobby and am currently in the process of building my first plane (SIG Kadet LT-40). Anyways, my question is in regards to completing the wings. I have the wings built and am at the process of sanding the sheeting down even. No problem, alhtough the manual mentions that I should also sand the extra glue around the wind rib to spar joints. I have sanded the extra glus level although some glue still remains on the balsa surface. I do not know to much about covering the wings.....but does the glue present any problem, or do I just need to make sure there are no sharp edges of glue? Does the wing covering adhere to the dried glue?

Any comment would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Jer.

Canadian, eh!?!

When sheeting a wing, you want to sand it so it is smooth, and blends in nicely with the leading edge (LE) or trailing edge (LE). You want a nice rounded LE. Run the back of your fingures over the joint. It'll tell you if it needs a bit more sanding.

Don't sand too much though! you don't want to have really thin wing sheeting!

Not being 100% with this particular instruction set, I would reccomend that you only sand to acheive a nice rounded LE, and sand as required to acheive a flush joint between the rib cap strips and the LE and TE sheeting. I think that's what they / you're saying, sand the excess glue, to ensure the caps strips glue to the spar.

You do want a bit of a 'fillet' of glue between all joints.. just a little mind you. Remove as much glue from the surfaces you're about to cover. Glue 'mess' on the inside of the wing, fuse won't interfere with the final covering, just adds a bit of extra weight (and may show slopiness, depending on how much 'mess' there is!! but don't worry about that.. better too much glue than not enough!!!)

As for the covering, it'll stick (mostly), but as you'll read, the quality of the finish is VERY dependant on the quality of the build and final sand. You'll have a bit of trouble sticking the coveirng to a glue patch if it is on an edge of the covering.

Hope that helps..

If you are worrying about it enough to ask... you are very likely to have it sanded properly already. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

The covering will stick to most glues: CA... not as good as clean balsa. Carpenter's glue... better than clean balsa. Epoxy... gotta sand the surface or the covering won't stick to the glue at all. (epoxies get a slick surface the iron on coverings won't grab... not really a "surfacing wax"... but acts like it.)

Thanks for your help! I'm sure it will be fine. I feel it is a good building job. The small amounts of glue are probably the size of the tip of your pinky finger (if that)..at some of the rib to spar joints. I probably used a little to much glue. oh well...the wing is nice and smooth so I don't think I will have any problems. Actually the extra strength may come in handy when I learn to fly!

Jer.

The first plane I built was an LT 40 last year, make sure you smooth out everything that will come in contact with the covering. I had a perfect finish on everything and didn't think to sand the outside of the ribs that touched the covering and it ended up showing, not bad but just a minor imperfection that bothered me. Good luck learning to fly, I suggest getting some practice with the real flight simulator first. It helped me alot!!

LT-40 Lazer cut? if so... yes, you do need to sand the scorch marks off the wood unless you want stripes. (purely cosmetic... doesn't affect flying or covering staying on the plane.)