I am building a GP Ultimate 40S full build kit and have a question concerning how to fit a beveled aileron. I was not too good at beveling, so I used the trick of gluing tri-stock to the leading edge of the elevators and rudder. This made for a nice
clean look. When doing this for the elevators and rudder, I cut the stab/fin (length wise) the the width of the tri stock used. This made everything line up.
I cannot do this with the aileron for a couple of reasons:
1. I can't cut into the trailing edge of the main wing for obvious reasons.
2. The elevators and rudder were not triangular.
3. If I glue the tri stock on the front of the aileron, I will have to cut either the leading edge or the trailing edge of the aileron before gluing on the tri-stock. The problem with this method is the shape of the aileron will be compromised. As stated, this would change the shape of the aileron, but fix the overhang shown in pic 3. Help!

SEE 3 ATTACHMENTS FOR FURTHER EXPLANATION

Theres no way around using sandpaper.

It would have been easier to just sand the bevel. I would just cut of the tri stock and sand it

Or, remove the tri stock, cut 3/8 off the LE of the aileron and re-glue the tri

As Gary said, time to break out a sanding block. This step scares the death out of a lot of people, but it's really easy and simple. So don't let it scare you. First, mark the centerline of the  aileron. Measure the distance from the edge of the aileron to the centerline. Now mark a line the same distance from the edge back onto each side of the aileron. These marks will give you where you have to remove wood to in order to get a 45° bevel. Now what I do next is to use a razor blade to remove as much wood as possible before I sand. Work in little bits and shave the wood off. If you are really careful you can almost cut the wood away down to your mark. But if you're not comfortable with the razor you can sand it off, it just takes longer. Once the wood is close to you lines simply use a sanding block to sand down to the lines you made. Biggest key is to not get in an hurry. If you try to do too much at once you'll end up taking too much material off.

Also, practice on scrap wood before you tackle the real ailerons. Do a few pieces for practice first, and when you get the feel for it go to the actual aileron. You'll find that it's really a lot easier than it looks!!

Good luck

Ken

I used an angled sanding block like the ones at the bottom of the page on this link. If you shim the aileron up so that the LE is 90deg to the table, you will have both edges sanded to 45degs with too much trouble.


http://www.airfieldmodels.com/inform...ing_blocks.htm

Hi!
You make triangular leading edges in just a second or two with razor plane! Very easy to do! Then sand using a long (25-30cm) alumium U-beam.
Best sandpaper ever.... is made by a Portugise company called Indasa! 3M and Norton is nothing compared to this.

Jaka, it's hard for us to get anything here that isn't made in China, what do you think our odds would be looking for something made from a Portuguese company??

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9527780

I 2nd that suggestion! Isimply drew a centerline down the front of the aileroni with a straightedge and used a razor plane tilted at the angle I wanted. Took just a few passes down top and botton and voila! Done. A couple of light passes with 220 grit sandpaper on a Great Planes sanding bar to make everything look nice and I was on to the next step, cutting the slots for the CA hinges.

Mark

Cut the hinge slots firstCut the hinge slots firstCut the hinge slots firstPlease Cut the hinge slots first

Ditto on cutting the hinge slots first.

OK, next time I will cut the hinge slots first! I guess I got lucky because everything worked out OK this time...

Thanks!

Mark

I built the GP Ultimate .40. Nice flying plane, you will love it. I did my ailerons the same way RCken said to. I do that on all my control surfaces on all my planes. It is not hard to do. Once you get the hang of it, beveled edges will no longer be a problem. I also agree with slotting for hinges before you bevel. If you have any questions on construction I would be happy to help you.

Yes, for making control surfaces, you first mark the centerline (hinge line) and then install the hinges. When you have the main surface and the control surface properly-mated, it's time to add the bevel to the control surface. I mark the setback on the top and bottom of the control surface (left and right for rudder), and then use my small Stanley block plane to get very close. Then sand to the final dimensions.

Here's the block plane I use...I like it because you can adjust the depth of cut and easily resharpen the blade:

http://www.stanleytools.com/default....Trimming+Plane