Hi,

Hops someone can give me an answer to these few questions , any help would be appreicated

1) I seem to get a few dents in my wings and fuse in the balsa under the covering, is thier anyway of removing these ?

2) I have a couple of engines which are all grimy, whats the best way to clean them up ?

3) How do you guys protect your wings etc, when transporting your planes, ive tried bubble wrap but still get knocked, maybe im just too fussy ?

Thx for any replys

If you can get hold of a hypodermic needle, getting rid of dings in balsa (under the covering) is real easy. Use the needle to inject water into the dent in a number of spots, then heat it with a covering iron. The water will flash to steam and the wood will swell and level out. Works great, it's cheap, it's easy!

Grimy engines.... Go to Walmart and spend $6 to $8 on a small crockpot. Fill it with antifreeze (not the bio friendly stuff), remove rubber and plastic parts from the engine (like carb "O" ring) and put it in the antifreeze on low for about 4 hours. Scrub it lightly with a toothbrush under warm water and it'll shine.

Protecting wings? Be more careful (or less fussy).
Dennis-

the antifreeze is a bit much for jsut a grimy engine. i would reccomend simple green barbecue grill cleaner. let it soak for about 1-2 mins. too much more than that will oxedise the aluminum and cause it to loose it's soft sandblasted finish. then, take to it with a toothbrush and rubbing alcohol to wash away the dirty stuff. also, the wings shouldn't ding too easily. if it is an arf, don't be alarmed. arfs have notoriously cheap covering. bubble wrap isn't necessary, and if you manage to ding it with the bubble wrap on then you are handling it too rough. you need to be gentile with this junk and stuff. try a wing tote bag

I went to good will and purchased a couple of quilts ($3) and made wing bags. They look like crap but they work great!

Thx guys for ur replys.

I acutually found the perfect thing last night.

Ive got a really cheap $8.00 sleeping bag, and its perfect to fit the wings in

Are there Wal-Marts in England?

Jesse

I saw custom made wing bags yesterday. One of the guy's wives bought quilted material (available everywhere) and just sewed up a couple of bags, with velcro to fix them tgogether. Look good, and work good I'd say.

If the engine is gummy, but can be turned by hand, and feels smooth, just sluggish, fuel works well. After all, the oil that's gumming it up came from fuel to begin with. I just did this to an old OS .61FS that has been in storage for over 10yrs. It was gummy, and had no compression, but I could move the crankshaft, and nothing felt "crunchy". After shooting it full of fuel and turning over by hand, it started to loosen up and compression came back. I got it running, and after the first tank of fuel, you'd never know it was in a box for all those years.

If it's totally frozen up, you're going to need heavier duty help. I've used the anti-freeze and crokpot trick, and it works well.

If the engine feels "crunchy", then you likely have rust somewhere, most likely the bearings. Rusted parts have to be replaced, obviously.