Ok I am new to the building and flying but not the site. I have read and replied to a few things in here. Now I need help I am building a Powerline Eagle Trainer with a 40 Super Tiger and using a Futaba 6EX-PCM. I have been reading everything and now up to the point of starting to build the plane. The plane is already covered.

Soooooooo this leads up to my 1st question:

The covering has bubbles in it. If i were to use a heat gun on it would it take out the bubbles? I have never covered or even seen anyone cover a plane so i am unfamiliar with this.

2nd question:

I am totally overwhelmed right now with looking at the parts and the book. The book is a picture only and VERY minimal words just a FYI. Now... on the wings the ailerons have a bar on them for supporting th aileron and then there are 3 slots that require you to put these white tabs (hinges) in both the wing and the aileron. it is saying to CA them and talks about making sure they are secure or an accident will come out. Well no duh.. lol. my question is why wouldn't you want to use the 30 minute epoxy on them... I am guessing you put the glue on the tabs and insert and they are going to stick to something or are you putting the tabs in and then CAing them on the out to the wing... do that make sense?

thanks for the help. I will post pics if you would like. I am going to take pics one for me to look back on later and 2 in case i need help. thanks again

Those are called CA hinges. Look here for a good how-to. http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...?article_id=55

The CA hinges must be installed using thin CA only. Epoxy or any other glue will not work.

Take a look at this link for really good details on installing CA hinges
http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...?article_id=55

<<<<< Pete beat me to it>>>>>

<< Second Edit >>
Minnflyer has posted some videos on covering
http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=726
They're big files. You should save them to disk versus trying to view online.

Yes, THIN CA only. Not epoxy. the CA needs to be able to soak into the hinges.

Not even medium CA--make sure you use THIN CA. Put the hinges in (being careful to get about 1/2 of the hinge into the aileron and 1/2 of it into the wing). I usually push it into the control surface first and see how much is sticking out. usually it works out pretty good, and then, with it sticking out of the aileron, work all 3 into the slots on the wing. usually it's hollow behind the slots on the wings, so you can lose them if you put them into the wing first and then try to put the aieron on. make sure they are all in (look on top and bottom) before you glue any of them. Then, hold it deflected and put a few drops on the top of each hinge. Let it sit for a couple of minutes, turn it over, and flex it the other way, and put a few drops on the back. Let her sit for several minutes, then work the joint to free it up. Give it a good tug to make sure it's going to hold.

On your first question--yes, use a heat gun. Just don't hold it in one spot for a long time. A few even swoops of the gun will take those wrinkles right out. Keep moving it. Once the covering starts to shrink, it will shrink right on up--it has to get hot first. You can also use a covering iron.

FWIW, the word building is usually reserved for those building kits. if it's an ARF, just say you are putting it together. I know, symantics, but I was a bit confused at first when you said you were up to the point of starting to build it, and then you already had bubbles in the covering.

Heat the covering with the gun or iron until the bubbles go down. Then use an oven mitt or pot holder to press it down over the solid areas. Don't push too hard though, just trying to make sure the adhesive is in good contact.

Symantic point: ARF's are assembled, not built. Sorry but we kit builders are picky on that definition.

We're just glad you're with us and preparing anything for flight. We'll nit-pick you but only in good nature.

Thin CA only. Test fit ALL parts before getting any adhesive near them. Once the glue hits the fan it's too late to make corrections.[:@]

Some ARF's have better directions than others.

RCU member MinnFlyer has done some great how-to articles and videos on covering. check them out as they will go a long way to getting you started.
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=67] Minnflyer Covering how-to [/link]
[link=http://67.18.81.100/rcuvideos/magazine/reviews/352/cov1.wmv] Minnflyer Covering video, part 1 [/link]
[link=http://67.18.81.100/rcuvideos/magazine/reviews/352/cov2.wmv] Minnflyer Covering video. part 2 [/link]
[link=http://67.18.81.100/rcuvideos/magazine/reviews/352/cov3.wmv] Minnflyer Covering video, part 3 [/link]
newest covering videos
[link]http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=726[/link]

On the himges. I put a t-pin (any strait pin will do) at the mid point of the hinge and assemble the surface. This keeps your hinge centered. Then pull the pins out and push the surfaces together to take out any slack left from where the pins were.

Thanks everyone for your input. I really appreciate the help. I unfortunately got side tracked by the other half (the honey do list) but am on my way to go see how this works out. I can't believe how little information that pamphlet has in it but from reading the RC magazines it seems like a lot of them are like that. Thank God for RC Universe. lol.. well i will follow up and let you know how the help worked out and thanks again for the help.


Also, how the heck do you find information like you guys gave me on here?

It sucks that your first plane has a lousy manual. That’s not always the case. A lot of ARFs have really good manuals.

SIG manuals are very good, with many actual photos and plenty of descriptive text. They are not available online.

Global, Great Planes, Hobbico, and Hangar 9 usually have good manuals. Many of these are online so you can download and review them before you buy.

Global http://www.globalhobby.com/review/reviews.asp
Great Planes http://www.greatplanes.com/parts/index.html
Hobbico http://www.hobbico.com/manuals/index.html
Hangar9 Alpha Trainer http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HAN2450
I can’t find a general listing for all H9 manuals. Most H9 planes on the Horizon site have a link for the manual.

You might be able to use a manual to another plane for guidance on assembly. Setting CG and control surface throws will have to come from the Power-Line documentation. Looking at the picture on http://www.powerlinehobbies.com, it looks like assembly should be pretty similar to a Hobbico Avistar.

Some of the guys on RCU have 10 to 50 years of experience. I am still a beginner, with a few years of struggling to get better. I read a lot here, and there is a lot of good info in some manuals. We have some guys in our club with 30+ years building experience. Asking them questions has been the best source of info for me.

Greetings -

I live in Dillsboro, IN and work in Mason, OH - drive right by Fairfield every day (twice!). I'd be happy to stop in and check things out if ya need a little help. Just pm me. I've been building / flying since age 12, some 30 years ago. Pic of one current project attached!

Regards,

Bob

wow long drive Kaos. I used to live in Sunman when I was younger. I live right near the Forest Fair Mall. I may very well take you up on that. Thanks a lot.

I got the wing put together and had to cut out a hole for the aileron servo. man what a pain in the rear that was with a utility knife. I need to buy a dremel.

I attached 2 pics one of all the goodies laid out and the servo cutout.


and yet another question. the wings are joined with a V looking piece of wood , 3 to be exact and glued together, now after i did this and put them together there is a gap about 1/8 of a inch. I have done ever thing i could to keep it together but it isn't working out. with this be a problem when i get it up in the air. or after it dries up do i fill it with epoxy.

another idea that i do is once the ca hinges are glued in i drill a hole through the stabs through the hinges and glue tooth picks through the hinges as a safety thing so the hinges got no chance of coming out through your flight

hmmmmmmmmmm very good idea. i wonder if it would be ok to use brad nails then or a small tack type nail.

Well I just checked my wing and i seems like it is stable and so are the ailerons. Man I tell you what. This ARF, there you go 2slow2matter I don't want to misrepresent...lol, is stressful. I can only imagine what the Mitchell is go is going to do to me when the time comes. Well finally off to bed. I will take a picture of the wing tomorrow and post my progress and I am sure my questions. I already know i have one building up on the servo installation. I see a whole lot of pieces with my Radio but not sure what all the pieces are in the package. oh well time to have nightmares.

Always test fit pieces before gluing them. Always.

That v-shaped piece of wood is the dihedral brace (I think that's what it's called). It's meant to put a slight angle into the wings. Chances are, you needed to sand the brace a bit to get the wings to sit flush against each other. If that epoxy has dried and there's a sizeable gap, someone else with more building experience will have to tell you how to fix it.

Again, always test fit your pieces.

There is NOT supposed to be a gap between the wing panels. If they are already glued in place you're going to need to try to slide some filler stock (balsa) between them and get that glued in place. Right now the entire load is on the dihedral braces. (Pete had it right) ALWAYS dry fit parts before applying glue to make sure they fit properly. This gives a chance to make adjustments if needed to make it right.

On site help from an experienced modeler is obviously a plus for a first time assembler.

Not a problem - if you decide you want some help we can work something out.

Also, there's a couple of good clubs near you. One is particularly close over at Joyce Park - have you (or are you planning to) join and get an instructor lined up?

Good luck - the pics look good - you'll be flying in no time!

yeah i have been over there several times and have been training with someone.

well i checked the wing this morning and i have a 1/8 inch gap from the front and then closes up towards the rear to less than a 1/16 th . so you think that maybe i should shim up the front gap with balsa?
Do you think a few pieces would suffice up front? As far as the dry run I had them fitting nice. I think there may have been glue in the slot drying up towards the end of the dehidral brace slot because initially i had the wings the wrong way. Fortunately I caught that mistake then had to reglue them and put it back in. Again they fit nice just the slightest gap if any. but as i said in the earlier post that gap i noticed in the ending stages of drying. Ugggggggggg.. this is fun but frustrating. Anyway here are the pics tell me what you think I can do please. Your help has been great so. I can't thank this websie enough for what it does.

You're saying you had the braces reversed at first so the wings "drooped" instead of "V'd"? I can see that happening to a new guy. If you used 30 min epoxy, as you should have, you should have had plenty of time to correct the error. Also, I always put the braces in one side first and let that cure and then test fit again before gluing on the other wing. Should also apply glue to the root rib faces for additional strength.

For this wing I think you need to let it go "as is". I believe any further action at this point will do more harm than good.

But I'm open to ideas from the rest of the guys.

What about just putting a strip of covering over the gap? If the wing is held on with rubber bands, it won't affect the structure.

I'm not concerned about the appearance or the wing coming loose from the plane. The concern lies with the 2 wing halves not being glues to each other as COMPLETELY as they would have been if he had applied glue to the root ribs and they were in contact with each other. POSSIBLY less strength here could allow the wings to fold in flight but as I said, not much to be done at this point.

Covering the gap with covering or at least tape will keep fuel/oil from getting into the seam and causing damage though.

Bruce, at this point, would filling the gap with epoxy add strength; or would it just add weight? I've heard some say epoxy is structural and some say it is not.

Old school idea here which would be a bit of work but might help -

Get 3 - 4" wide fiberglass cloth and wrap the center section - this is fairly common practice in kit building. The cloth is attached to the wing using thinned epoxy or finishing resin. I agree that a "no gap" situation is better, but the glass cloth treatment would add strength. Would have to strip the covering around the center section and recover but a non-folding wing is ideal for a trainer...