blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

Gents,
I am putting together a Aeroworks Edge 540T .46-.61 ARF. I'm new to any kind of building. Everything has been going well until I ran into a SNAFU today with the ARF.
Included are pix that show the two issues with the construction of the ARF itself.

Pic 1: Blind nuts are crooked. These were pre installed.
Question: What is a good technique to straighten blind nuts if they are crooked?

Pic 2: Wing saddle. Basically the wing fits in the fuselage on a saddle. The bolts from pic 1 fit through a wing joiner on the top of the wing and screw into the (now crooked) blind nuts. The front of the wing has two dowels that fit into holes at the front of the fuse. Once the wing is bolted down the canopy then fits over the wing and screws in the side of the fuse.
The problem I am having is the wing will not fit into the back of the saddle (see pic). If I force it it sort of fits. I'm talking a difference of 1/4 (maybe a tad more) too much. Since the saddle at the back is ply, I am thinking that I may could trim a little off the trailing edge center of the wing for it to get a good fit. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Both issues are related to the ARF. The wing was joined together properly and all matched up with a 0 dihedral as per instructions.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

All of this is because the blind nut is crooked?



If that is really the root of the problem you better correct it, I wouldn't do any trimming. You get the geometry of the wing off you may have some adverse affects.


If the blind nut isn't glued you may be able to tap it out and install a new one. If it's glued it may be a royal pain in the butt. But I wouldn't suggest clipping off 1/4 of the TE of the wing.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

You can loosen glued blind nuts by heating them with a pencil type soldering iron and pushing them out while the nut is still warm. I am not quite at that point on mine so I'll report back when I check my wing fit.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

Before you try to do anything with the blind nuts, FIRST, get a set of large pliers or pipe pliers and merely squeeze the nuts into the wood.

Often they are off because they are not fully into the wood "flat".... doing the above will align them.

Not a big deal, many ARF's I've received came this way.

You may want to slightly widen the holes in the wing saddles for the screws a bit to help you align the wing to the holes and saddles.

Do this before screwing around with the front mount.

You may find that everything will fit fine once the blind nut issue is taken care of.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

when the wing is slide in place with just the dowels it doesn’t sit in the saddle? if that is the case what it sounds like is you might need to use a piece of dowel smaller than the dowels in the wing wrapped in 80/50 grit sand paper and sand out the holes in the fuse for the dowels. only do a small amount at a time until the wing sits in the saddle. you should put some saddle tape on if you haven’t already, you can get it at any hardware store or your lhs,try to find 1/8 thick single sided tape. that will hold your wing in tight and will protect it from rubbing against the saddle.i have had several wings with the same problem and fixed them in this way.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

Just trim out the back of the wing to fit in the saddle.

I would'nt mess with the blind nuts until the wing is in the saddle, usually the blind nuts are angled to fit the curve of the wing.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

Like gunfighter said, the blind nut do not appear to be crooked. They are intentionally canted aft so that when they are tightened down on the wing, the heads are parallel to the surface of the wing.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

Are you saying that the wing won't fit in the saddle at all? Forget the tie down bolts for now. Does the wing sit flat and square in the saddle?

If so, then make sure that the wing is square with the fuselage. Mark a point on the center line of the fuselage. Make sure it's in the exact center. Then measure from the tip of the right wing to this point and from the tip of the other wing to that point. They should exactly match (within some reasonable amount, say within an eighth of an inch or so). If they do, then re-align the bolts so that they will securely hold the wing in that position.

Look at a build review that Minnflyer did on the Goldberg Progege 70 ARF. He replaced the standard metal bolts with quarter-twenty ( that's 1/4 - 20 ) nylon bolts. He has a proven accurate method of removing the old blind nuts then drilling and tapping the holes in the hardwood to accept the nylon bolts. This is a good method. This way, the nylon bolts will securely hold the wing down and give a break-away method for the bolts to shear should you have a mishap. The break-away method could save the fuselage and wing from further destruction in the event of a crash.. not by any means a guarantee, but a break-away method that is much better than having metal, or steel bolts holding the wing down.

CGr.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

In the Giant Scale forums there is an Areoworks support forum. This would be a better place to post
this question as AW reps regularly check that forum. I wouldn't hack into anything until you have
talked directly to a person with experience in building this plane.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

It's not a giant scale plane, it's a 40 - 60 size Edge 540T.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

Make sure the front of the wing seats flush against the forward bulkhead. And then check to see if the hold down bolts go into the blind nuts easily. As gunfighterII said, they will tighten up to the top of the wing correctly at that angle. It actually looks like a very understanding construction detail. That's something you don't often see with Chinese made ARFs. And they might tighten the wing into position in the saddle. GunfighterII's advice is good as is overbored77's. It would be a very good idea to ask this question over in the Aeroworks forum.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

To all:
Problems fixed.
1. Drilled holes a little more oblong on the wing joiner to allow screws to fit with current blind nuts. Looks like a good fit.
2. Wing sadlle doesn't fit: Pushed until I got it to fit and the balsa is conforming. This should be OK once it's done a few times. Everything is centered and lined up.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

Then why is one screw angled more than the other?!?

No, when he started the blind nuts were not fully engaged into the wood.

BTW: I'm actually familiar with this plane.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

[quote]ORIGINAL: CGRetired

It's not a giant scale plane, it's a 40 - 60 size Edge 540T.
[/quote

My QQ yak isn't a giant scale either but the manufacturer has a support forum in the Giant scale forums here on RCU,
As does Aeroworks. I have already checked the forum and there are a few threads already dedicated to this plane.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

All right. I stand corrected. I just didn't think that they would tolerate such a puny aircraft in there.. :D (sorry about that..) ;)

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

Sorry about getting snippy, Dick. This out of work stuff is making me impatient.[&o][&o]

Also I have found that the companies such as QQ, Aeroworks and Wildhare back there products
very well on there support forums. No disrespect to the people trying to help but If there is a problem,
the manufacturer is the best place to get answers, especially if it comes down to upgraded parts or
assembly methods. I had a small problem with my QQ yak, the landing gear was bent in way to much
at the bottom of the legs and the control horns didn't seem right. After 1 post and a few E-mails back
and forth the new LG and updated horn setup was delivered at no cost to me. To the best of my knowledge
the crew at Aeroworks has a good reputation for customer service also.

RE: blind nut issues/wing saddle help
 

Not a problem, Chris. I fully understand.. and was gonna ask ya why you were not back to work yet.. guess I don't need to ask now.

I was lucky with my knee last year. I was never told not to go to work so I went. But, my job is very different from yours. It seems that I am a chair warmer lately. Jeech!!!

No fly this weekend. Wind was a tad to stiff for me to bother..and it was colder than I really wanted to deal with. So, Saturday, Julie and I went to Barnegat and Sunday to the Antique Show then to PF Changs for dinner. Yum!!!

Back to topic.. that review on the Goldberg Skylark 70 shows how to do the nylon bolt swap and is a good mod. With that, you can make those bolts mount straight, or a better term is perpendicular to the wing surface.

CGr.