Elevator alignment
 

Hi everybody. Does anybody have any tips on aligning the trailing edge of the elevator to a 90 degree angle with the fusalodge. On my Avistar, I just measured back from the wings. Everytime I look at, it looks crooked, though I cant get the tape measure to say so. I epoxied it in place, so I guess I'll have to live with it, unless I purchased another elevator. Another question. What would be the next best plane for me. I have stick built several free flight planes (arrow, javalin, piper cub, zero, spitfire, ect.) , so difficulty is not a problem. I want to be able to use my 46ax from the Avistar, at least for now.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

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RE: Elevator alignment
 

I dont believe its off enough to make redo "necesary". Im just a perfectionist.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

Why would either Sig kadet be my next plane after the Avistar? I was more thinking the sig 4* or something extra. How does the laser help alignment?

RE: Elevator alignment
 

Do you mean the rudder, and not the elevator?

My second plane was the Phoenix Dolphin. It was a lot of fun and very inexpensive. They say your second plane will take a beating as you start to become comfortable and start experimenting, and 'they' are absolutely right. 46AX flew the plane very well, even well enough to compete in some aerobatics contests. For $99 you can't beat it.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

No. Believe it or not, the rudder is close to perfect, it just looks off in the pictures. It is perfectly square to the elevator, and to the ground, when the plane is on its belly or its gear. When sighted from the tail, the elevator and the wing are paralel. (If the wings were flat)

RE: Elevator alignment
 

Its easy to get the wings on an Avistar a little crooked when you put on the rubber bands. What I do is find the center of the cross section(side to side) of the fusalage right in front of the vertical stab and put a small mark with a pencil or ink pen. Then measure from this point to each wing tip or tip of the aileron and postion the wing so the measurement is equal on both sides. Do the same for the elevator, find the center of the top of the fuse right in front of the wing Le and mark it, then measure to each tip of the elevator. Of course if you've already glued the elevator, you may just want to live with it if its less than 1/4" off.
After I get the wing squared up, I make marks with a sharpie on the center of the front and back edge of the wing as well as the fusalage, from then on all I have to do is line up the marks when installing the rubber bands.

Not sure what you meant about the Kadet, but it is no step up from the Avistar, the Avistar will out fly it any day with equal engines. However , A four star, Kougar, or a Somethin extra would be a good next step.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

Or a Das Ugly Stick, or Sig Kavalier for a good second plane. Sig Kougar is quite fast for a second plane.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

Ok, so to align the elevator with the fuse, you pick a point in the center of the fuse, maybe the rear center of the wing saddle, and measure to the rear corners of the elevator. The distance should be exactly the same.

You can put a T-pin in the rear of the wing saddle and use a length of string as your measuring guide. Loop a piece of masking tape around the string so it's sticky but will slide if you need to move it. Put a line in the center of the tape, and use that as your guide.

These are from directions from different planes. One thing you can do is go to Tower's site and download instructions for different planes and look at them for ideas. You can also go to Aero-works.net and look at their instructions (high quality planes).

RE: Elevator alignment
 

The farther away you go the more acurate you get. Find the center on the firewall and string it from there. If the cockpit gets in the way, go to the bottom of the firewall and center it there. That way the angular difference from tip to tip is smaller than measuring from the front or rear of the wing saddle. Like when you squared the wing, the farthest point is the rear of the tail, so you find the center there.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

Thanks for the input. My mention of the Kadets was from an earlier recomendation I didnt understand.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

It looks good to me.

But for future reference, don't use a tape measure. Use a wood or metal ruler.

If you don't have one long enough, you can even glue some balsa sticks together to get something long enough and just mark it where it meets the elevator - after all, it doesn't matter how many inches it is, all that matters is that the two measurements are equal.

And DON'T use string! It varies too much.

As far as a next kit, a 4*, Tiger II or Great Planes Rapture would be a great choice.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

Ordinary string stretches too easily. Use a SOLID ruler or sticks like Minn mentioned. And the further forward your reference point is the more accurate.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

Wasn't there a post showing someone using a laser gizmo to measure that?

CGr.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

I used to fly Controline and have braided steel controlines. I use those, they don't stretch.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

I make up my pull/pull systems out of braded stainless steel fishing leader so i always have a lot of that in the shop, like control lines it doesn't stretch. I also have a big spool of wire from installing burgler alarms, I strip it and have used that too, no stretch. Measuring like Caster mentioned was something I learned in my free flight days. Those planes have to be spot on if you want to win so perfection is a good thing. The mark one eye ball isn't always the best thing to use, my eyes are about a half a bubble off!!:D

RE: Elevator alignment
 

Yes, it was I, who posted the laser gizmo and here it is in use.

Photo 1) The gizmo. A laser tool with swivel head.
Photo 2) The head set at neutral position to check the stab center line.
Photo 3) The head swiveled to the right to check alignment. Measured at 30 degree angle.
Photo 4) The head swiveled to the left for a perfect matching 30 degree angle.

Purchased this at Carr Hardware years ago and it has become a necessity to me. Extremely accurate and more dependable than a piece of string and easier than a measuring tape.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

If it works for you, great. Think I'll stick with braided steel line from a point exactly in the center of the top of the firewall.

RE: Elevator alignment
 

That means your alcohol level is a little low.:D