Wing tips
 

What do wing tips do exactly? Im at the part of my Tiger 60 build where I have to glue block of wood on the ends of my wing, then carve them into shape. This is making me very nervous, because im fraid Ill mess up and both sides wont be the same and it will effect the flight of the plane. Can I just skip this step? Do they really need wing tip? Whats wrong with flat ends?

Thanks

RE: Wing tips
 

Theres nothing wrong with flat end wingtips. However, your wingtip blocks you want to omit maybe what is strengthening that area of the wing. If you carve and sand them close to the same shape that will be fine its not all that critical on a model aircraft.

To further the discussion a bit more different wingtip configurations can offer some interesting aerodynamic features. For example the winglets on airliners improve fuel efficiency. Wingtip fences on a model airplane will increase roll rate and delay stalling because they delay boundary layer separation to some degree.

RE: Wing tips
 

It is just one of those things you have to do. Get a sanding bar or block with some 80 grit paper on it. While you may be afraid of taking off too much, being able to see the shape form fairly quickly will help give you the shape you want, you will know when to slow down, and switch to a finer grit to finish it with. I was surprised myself. Good luck!