Bought an Avistar ARF. I also have a Superstar ARF and a Nexstar ARF. Both, the Superstar and the Nexstar, have a metal rod that you insert before joining the wing halves together. The Avistar ARF does not have the wing rod nor is it mentioned in the assembly instructions. That means that the wings are only epoxied together with a wooden wing joiner which really controls the amount of dihedral. To make things more confusing ... the Avistar RTF has a metal wing joiner rod.

I called Hobbico and they say this is correct. The ARF doesn't have a wing rod, but the RTF does. The Service Rep couldn't tell me why, but did say that they haven't been having any problems reported about the ARF wing not having a rod. It just seems to me if a trainer (Superstar and Nexstar) required a rod and the RTF version required a rod then the ARF would require a rod.

Can anybody shed some light on this? At this point I am pretty confused and a little paranoid about just gluing the wing together.

Thanks

Don't worry about it, trekker. The wooden joiner will be plenty strong enough. I suspect a design change due to cost.

Dr.1

Dr1Driver is essentially correct. There are even subtle differences in the airfoils. I would re-inforce the wooden wing joiner -- they have been known to fail on occasion, particularly if insufficient epoxy is used on the inner rib faces to sandwich the wing halves together.

Don't worry, Trekkerguy,

That solid metal, chrome-plated rod is the weird way to join wing halves; the wood joiner and epoxy is the usual way.

Enjoy your Avistar... they are great flyers. I just repaired a crashed one for a friend and it's driving my nuts sitting in my shop... I want to take it out and test-fly it! [8D] (It's the RTF version with the metal rod you're talking about.)

Good flying,
desmobob

Yes, the RTF has the metal rod, but the ARF does not.

So, does this mean that when I take the dihedral out of my spare Nexstar wing that I don't have to put in the rod? Hope it does.

And, thanks folks for your input.

You can remove the dihedral by bending the metal rod or by making a straight wooden joiner -- your choice.

No! You have to have something in there... the rod or a plywood joiner. Since the wing is set up for a metal rod, there is no pocket for a plywood joiner. It may be difficult to try to remove some of the dihedral. I guess you'd have to add some wedged ribs at the root ends of the wing and carefully bend the metal rod to fit the new wing shape?

Others here will have the correct information for you.

Good flying,
desmobob

It is quite easy to do by bending the metal rod. Yes, you have to fill the gaps.

The more difficult & time consuming method is to cut slots in the end ribs for a wooden joiner, but ultimately, that method results in a lighter wing. As I said -- your choice

Build the wing per instructions. Great plane. You will love it. The only thing I would do is fiberglass the wings after you joined them together. Then the wing will be rock solid!!

Have fun

Manny,

Please note that I said the wing was a spare. I have flown my Nexstar a couple of dozen times with the original wing built as it is supposed to be. But, now I would like to take the dihedral out (on the spare only) and cut in flaps. Ultimately, I want to put a pair of floats on this plane.

I agree with you that the Nexstar is a really nice plane and will always have it in original configuration. But, I think the spare wing gives me an opportunity to explore a bit.

Thanks to everyone for your input. Rest assured (LOL) I will have more questions in the future.

There are different versions of some of the planes. The ARF version requires you to glue the wing together at the center. When the ply wing joiner is properly-installed into its pocket, and the rib faces on the wing halves are glued together with NO gaps, the wing's plenty strong....the two halves and joiner provide plenty of support.

The RFT version has a slip-together wing that is not glued in the center. The two wing halves do not help support each other in any way. That's why there's a steel rod to provide support across the center.

One method is not superior to the other, they are just different because the structures of the wings are different.

I happen to have both wings (arf and rtf). The ARF wing has a ply jointer because the ARF wing is glued together with 30 minute epoxy. For ease of assembly, the RTF wing has a metal rod and two small metal straps that join the halves. the RTF one held for me, until I did a couple simultanious hard loops and the wing began to split and come off the airframe [X(] When I landed, the holes where the straps screw it were stripped out, so I moved both straps up slightly and retapped holes. Then, I glued the RTF wing together, and haven't had a problem since.

Hi trekkerguy
Don't worry about the wing joint strength. make a good wing joint and it will hold just fine. In the photo below you can see where my glue joint held but ripped out the entire first rib in the wing. This was not the fault of the manufacturer. I had been totally abusing this plane for about 2 months using more than 70 degrees of deflection on the control surfaces and making the plane do things it was never designed to do. [X(][X(] ... That's when the wing decided to snap in half !!!!!!
P.S. It did make a very spectacular swan dive

Dale

Thanks everyone for your input. I now have a better understanding on wings, but that isn't to say I won't have more questions in the future. LOL

It is fantastic that RC Universe gives us a place to learn by others and to ask questions and get answers before we get into trouble. No pun intended, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, but I for one am thankful that you folks take the time to respond with your acquired knowledge.

Take care,
Trekkerguy