Please co-miserate with me...

What step in model airplane building do you dread the most, but MUST be done?

For me, I hate setting the horizontal stab and squaring up the wing.

Absolutely hate this step.

Brian

I hate when the instructions say to "carve/sand to shape"

Brian, the step I hate the most is when I discover I've made two right wing halves. Of course, if you can get another kit, that is a good reason to have two.

Don

motor and radio installation !

When I'm moving right along on a build and discover a mistake I made. Like as of this moment!!!!!!!!!!![:@]Nothing I can't correct but I really hate it.
I don't like building wings all that much, it just takes a lot of time but I think the hardest part for me is installing and setting up the radio gear, servos and what not. I make up all my control rods and have my planes operating before I ever start covering or painting/glassing. Just so much time involved. Kits I don't mind the wings as much but on a scratch/plans build it involves a lot of thinking and time, fitting every part before gluing.

Sounds like onboard gear is the thorn in most people's side... So far.

Brain

Sanding. Plain and simple. Every plane project I have that it stuck in a corner unfinished is stalled at the stage it's ready to sand. I simply hate it. Everything else in building a plane I love. Heck, I'm one of those weirdos that loves to cover. But I hate to sand the plane. [:@][:@][:@]

Ken</p>

I gotta agree with foodstick. I get very little pleasure from installing radio gear, engines, retracts, and related systems to make them operate. On the other side of the coin, I really don't mind, and quite often enjoy, the sanding process which a great number of builders really dislike.

Love framing and shaping the structure, heck I even used to enjoy whittling those big blocks down, shaping them.

Once I learned to use superior techniques from one kit to improve the one I was working on, heck the plans and instructions are just a guideline. After many kits even plan building seems natural. Once you build wings ten different ways, it seems more clear when some of the info isn't there !

I still laugh sometimes after cutting a kit out from plans, finding a part or three that isn't even VAGUELY close memories

I have to add another. After getting over building a left hand wing. setting up the throttle is the step I dread the most. Getting the engine running just right, the idle established and the ability to kill the engine set, then have a near linear response to the stick is probably the hardest step in building. Well maybe right up there with wheel pants.

Don

The way I do it, it just takes so much time waiting for the epoxy to cure. Even with a kit I install my own servo rails and put things in some odd places so I can get the correct CG. If I give building too much thought I would be buying ARFs. Sanding?? I would rather be locked in a phone booth full of moths with the light on rather then sanding. I know, there are no phone booths anymore but you get the idea. If I think about it the only thing I really like is the covering?? Well, that and the creative part of building, the thrill of watching something I created lifting off for the first time. The big boost of my ego when someone asks who made it. As soon as I get this one finished and have had a week or two to think about it I will tell you there is nothing about building I don't like!! Seeing the finished product makes all the work worth it. If I wasn't building I would be watching TV and reading while I listened to the elastic in my under ware expand and wiping the gray mater flowing from my ears off my cheeks.

Eeek! I build a lot, but it's not making me any thinner... []

I dont mind sanding too much. I find it kind of nice every once in a while where I can just sand away and take my mind off things. I guess because fine woodworking is my original hobby I am just one of those guys that could keep sanding until its just a little bit smoother.

I hate it when the guy askes me for my credit card [:@]

Mine is along the lines of yours Mike.

Adding up all that I spent at the end of a build. Heck, I'm into my current build for something north of 3 or 4 grand, and I haven't even bought the wood, radio gear, or motor for it!

[X(]

I like warbirds and the part that I have a love-hate relationship with is scale details. I love the research, photo hunting, carving pieces, making plugs and vacuforming, figuring out creative ways of reproducing that "last" little detail........"oh, and then just this one "last" thing"......until it's been 15-30 last bits.

Thats the part I hate....figuring out when enough is enough. At this rate it's a wonder I ever get to finally fly the things!!

I'd have to say push rods, linkages and radio gear. It can get pretty tight/awkward in some fuselages for my big mitts!

Steps I dread the most:
CG measuring => battery installation.
joining wing halves - I never get the dihedral angle in the instructions and once over sanded.
most afraid of wing saddle - yup once I had to use a big screwdriver to separate the wing from the fuse [&:].

Now everybody repeat after me:
I LOVE SANDING, again I LOVE SANDING until it sinks.

I second every thing Alex just wrote. I was going to write the exact same things down.

While the Slot Machine and CA hinges have made life easier I still hate installing hinges.

A close second would be bending piano wire!

Cheers

Gord

I'm going to go along with RC Ken. Sanding is THE worst for me!

Brian,

I'm surprised no one picked up on this? It appears as though you put the wing in after the tail feathers? Did I read that correctly?

I always set my wing in place first. Totally in place, screws and all. THEN I set my stab measuring off of the wing. If the stab is square and aligned, the vert stab is easy to put in place.


I really live to build, especially scratch building, but I have never made two left or two right wings by mistake.

All of this is why I wait until I see you guys selling your plane in the RCU Marketplace!

COVERING!! sorry for yelling I really dont mind it just a pain sometimes....