Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

I have a Hanger 9 Xtra Easy... not the newest thing in the world but it should get me in the air. The previous owner had hit a pole and damaged a wing, nothing that about 2 pieces of balsa won't fix however the coating is shot. I would like to recover the wings however the ailerons are glued on by the factory. Is there any way to get these off without trashing the wing? I suppose I could get it covered without getting them off, but it will be a challenge!

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

Depends on the hinge...

but for just about all types.. cut the old hinge.. sand down anything that is left (you won't be able to get them out.. don't try)
recover the wing and when it is time to hinge, re-hinge next to or near the old hinge with new hinges.....

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

I've done this several times while repairing or recovering, the extra time and care it takes is really less that the time to re-hinge IMO
You just need to cover as normal and when you get tot the hinge area, cut the covering to slide between the hinges

good luck either way

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

You could also cut a strip of covering that is about an inch wide and slide it between the hinges and iron it on.
Then cover the wing and aileron as one unit.
Slice the new covering along the hinge line and iron it down.
Works for me....Ron

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

Thanks for the advice guys, I am pretty new to the whole thing and I thought maybe I'd be out of luck with those ailerons...

I still have to do a little balsa repair but I should have it ready to go in a couple weeks.

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

Give a good tug on the aileron. On a lot of ARF's with CA hinges they'll just pull out and take a few slivers of balsa with'em. I don't think a week goes by at the field that I don't see stuff falling off someone's plane all by itself :D

Alternatively, slice'em down the middle with a single edge razor blade, then take a #11 x-acto and run it along the top/bottom of the halves left in the balsa. The remains should pull out with a pointy needle nose at this point leaving you with a slot just about wide enough to fit some proper barrel hinges.

Or just cover around them as suggested above...

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

Thanks for the step by step, I think replacing the hinges would be the right thing to do. Do you have a link to a set of "barrel" hinges that would work for this application so that I could get a look at what I should be shopping for?

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXD941&P=ML

I Bing'd "dubro hinges" and Tower's page was one of the responses. They come in several sizes ranging from pretty small to pretty big. Most LHS's that have airplane stuff should have something on hand.

The nice thing about the nylon barrel hinges is the tab is a bit thicker than a CA hinge is, so even if a bit of wood comes out when removing the CA hinge, you're probably still OK. The bad thing about them is you gotta be fussier about alignment than with a CA hinge. The good thing is, when aligned perfectly, it takes little force to move them. The bad thing is, if misaligned, they can be pretty stiff...although I've seen some CA hinges in trash can remains that you needed a crowbar to move.

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

I had to post this, and I am only joking..not trying to be MEAN ;)

My first thought to the question HOW TO REMOVE AILERONS, was FLUTTER !

wow, do they come off quick that way !

Hope it goes quick and works out nice ..

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

ahah, yeah I would imagine that would do the trick!

Thanks for the link, I am going to stop at my LHS and have them walk me through it. Thankfully my LHS is mostly planes, so his supply of balsa and covering is pretty thorough.

Looking forward to the semester coming to an end, these finals/working 40 hours a week are killing my airplane schedule!

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

I would do the "slip the covering through" trick as long as the hinges are tight and teh gap is OK. If the hinges have a metal pin you can pull just the pins out.

When I do this I do the slipped covering after the top and bottom of the aileron is covered just to get the desired overlapping.

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

reverse the process you put them on with...duh?

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

leave them on and just seal the hinge line. do it all the time. very easy do the hinge line first then the wing or ailerons next. take your time and will look nice.

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

my first plane was a extra easy 2 from Hanger 9 Great Trainer and I still have it had some craashes not to bad while learning and I never replaced the hinges just did like an above guy did cut a piece a inch wide and coverd in between hinges then covered wing. Looks fine and flys the same.

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

I always glue in the hinges before covering. This allows the hingee gap to be sealed and provides extra insurance for any hinge failures.

RCKen has done a really good thread called something like "LT40 Pay it Forward" in which he photo documents the whole procedure.

If you can't find the thread the attached photo may help. This is the wing from my kit built extra. First cover the ends of the ailerons and the inside portion of the aileron "cut out". Then using a 1" strip of covering, folded down the middle lengthwise, insert the fold into the aileron gap with the aileron fully deflected away from the joint. Using the tip of the iron seal the covering into the vee joint along the whole length on both surfaces. Then seal the covering on the wing and aileron surfaces. The iron should be hot enough to seal but not shrink the covering. Flip the wing over and do the same on the other side. Then cover the wing as normal overlapping the aileron gap sealing covering just into the vee gap. Add trim into the Vee joint as required.

Probably takes longer to type this than to do.

Try it it works and Looks great.

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

Nice job!

RE: Want to recover a wing, how do you get the ailerons off?
 

Thank you Sebo. Nothing as gratifying as peer compliments. Unfortunately about to do it ALL over again after an "incident" a few weeks back.

I have a crash and rebuild thread going here - GP Extra 300 resurrection...