Arrow wing bolt conversion
 

Has anyone converted a Hangar 9 Arrow to use wing bolts instead of rubber bands? I just got back into the hobby after 10+ years away fooling with R/C cars. I know the benefits of rubber bands, but I still hate 'em. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

RE: Arrow wing bolt conversion
 

I did a response to this question a few months ago. Minnflier even did a nice drawing. So If this answer confuses you , you can do a serach and see if you can find it.

Pull the covering at the middle of the wing where they join. Make 2 dihedral braces with a 3" wide about 1" deep tab sticking down. Cut the sheeting at the leading edge and at the front of the spars. One brace goes at the spar and another at the leading edge. Put some 1/16 or 3/32 or so plywood on the back of the front cabin former. Drill a 1/4" hole through the front cabin former and the 2 brace tabs. After aligning the wing of course. Epoxie in 2 hardwood dowel sections in the tabs to go into the front former. The front is now done.

You then reinforce the trailing edge sheeting where the bolts go. Put in 2 1/4" aircraft plywood mount plates in the rear corners of the cabin. Reinforce these with triangle stock. Set the wing in place. Double check the alignment and drill 2 holes through the wing In the size for a 1/4-20 tap. Tap the blocks, use some thin CA to harden the threads. Retap the holes and redrill the wing to 1/4". Recover the center section. You are done. RCM in its 75'Th anniversary issue did a redo of the advanced trainer of theirs. It gives you some pictures of this set up.

I too hate bands. I always do this procedure to eliminate them when I build the plane. Good luck with your project.

Mark Shuman

RE: Arrow wing bolt conversion
 

Thanks Phread... That's what I kinda had in mind. Already started it. I made the plywood brace for the trailing edge and epoxied it into the fuselage. Now I'm trying to find out exactly where to cut the sheeting off from the bottom of the wing. I'm not afraid at all to cut because I have built a couple of kits in the past. How can I align the holes in the former in the fuselage in front of the leading edge w/o drilling straight through the windshield of the plane?