I just got a superstar 40 arf, I've been putting it together as I find time. Yesterday I noticed that the vertical stab looked a little funny mounted on the plane (unglued). So I took it off and laid it on a flat surface and it seemes to be warped a little bit, is this normal? when it lies flat there is a gap between the table and the vstab about 2mm long (this is measured at the greatest point..in the center). I laid it under some books overnight to see if it would flatten out but it did not. Is this nothing to worry about or should I try returning the vstab? Thanks

I wouldn't worry it won't matter on a trainer

I would not worry about it either. The very small movement this will impart to the plane will be trimmed out by your instructor on the first flight anyway.

I would be really careful when you epoxy the vstab in though. I thought I had done a good enough job on it, only to have it work loose after 5-10 flights. It would move quite easily to one side. Just remember to check all the surfaces before and after each flight.

While it's no a big problem, if you're like me, it will bug you. here are a few things you can try:

First, if you have a heat gun, carefully bend it the other way and apply heat to both sides.

Or, try putting a thin shim under it and weighting down the ends (ecentially bending it the OTHER way) and let it sit overnight.

But, as said, if neither works, don't worry about it.

It will not make much difference on that airplane- but if you wanna fix it for fun, heat up the covering with a blow dryer or heatgun and twist it to flat, thn hold it while it cools--

BE CAREFUL in installing the vertical fin !!!!!
On my last Superstar 40 the Fin was cut to SHORT
so the epoxy on the bottom of the fin DID NOT
touch the horizontal fin...[]

Added a 1/8 inch strip of balsa to the bottom of
the vertical fin...

WITHOUT holding to the horizontal fin it is
very weak...

Walt...

thanks for your help everyone, and thanks for bringing the fact that my vstab does not touch my hstab either, I'll make sure I mount it corectly.