I got my trainer plane in the other day and am about complete with the build. This plane came with a set of CA hinges and I have a question, these are new to me as I have been out of the RC hobby for some time. We used to "pin the hinges" with these new type it seems they soak up the CA and hold better, is it still necessary to pin the hing?

Thanks,

Dave

No you do not have to pin them. Be sure that you use thin CA and put 3-4 drops on each side of the hinge. I use a pin in between the control surface to keep the hinge from sliding to far in on one side. after the control surface is connected then you can remove the pins and apply the CA. AFter you have applied the CA and it is set then you want to flex the hinge fully up and down to loosen it up before you connect the pushrods. Others in this forum will have a different way of doing it and I think they are all OK.

It would be worth taking a quick look at MinnFlyer's how-to article on CA hinges:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...?article_id=55

There is also a very good tutorial on CA hinges at the AMA's Sport Aviator website:

http://www.masportaviator.com/ah.asp?CatID=2&ID=14

Thank you very much

One drop of thin CA per side is all it takes. Pinning them in a high performance model or if they are set in soft wood is not a bad idea. The slots for these hinges must be tight knife slits.......not mortised out holes made with a digging tool.

The debate for using CA hinges will never end. I personally wouldn't use them MinnFlyer trusts them. One thing that stands out on both side is in most ARF kits, don't use the ones that come with the ARF, swap them out with some name brand hinges.