Hey guys,

I'm fairly new to the RC Airplane hobby... Haven't flown or built in about 15 years. I'm in the middle of building a CG Electra Electric Glider Kit... The balsa they shipped to be used as a elevator is a bit warped. What is the best way to reshape and make this flat? Or is my best bet just going to a LHS and buying new elevator stock? Would putting the elevator in warm water then using clamps on my building board to straighten it work? Would doing this cause shrinkage or anything?

Also, one of my wings seems to be just slightly heavier then the other... When sitting on the dihedral point the wing always droops to the right. I know that I have the dihedral and polyhedral angles correct. I was thinking about drilling a small hole in the wing tip and then epoxying in a little bit of lead and filling the hole with filler. Before I do that is the lateral balance of a glider wing important? If so what is the best way to check the lateral balance of a wing?

I know... both noobish questions, but search didn't turn up anything.

Thanks for the info in advance!

Dazz

You can try steaming the elevator and then clamping it flat. You may also be able to remove the warp with iron on covering, if it is a slight warp. As for the wing, adding a smidge of weight to balance it side to side is a good thing. Just make sure the weight is secured and cannot come loose. Good Luck, Dave

I have used steam to purposely bend balsa sheet for turtledecks or cowl cheeks. It would probably also work for straightening warped balsa stock. You may have to overbend it a little to get it straight.
It certainly doesn't hurt to get the lateral balance perfect but the sky won't fall if it isn't, in fact it will probably fly okay with a warped elevator also.

Dazzaz,
As an elevator is such a simple shape to make I would just make another one, you get to choose the wood before you buy it so you can ensure it is a straight piece.

The drill a hole and insert small nails method is good for ballance, you can set them on the wing to get an idea of weight before you start drilling and glueing.

These small attention to detail items do really help improve flight performance. As stated above, it would still fly anyway, but while at this point why not make it fly better?

I have flown an indoor foam electric plane with almost half the tail missing, one third of the rudder missing, and considerable parts of the main wing missing. It still flew, not pretty, but it flew.

Enjoy the model.