Hi

I am currently building a Sig Something Extra Kit and have a problem I think. The wing should be mounted to the fuselage with an aluminium tube through the fuselage but I have a small gap (about 1 mm) between the left wing and the fuselage. Upon closer inspection it seems as if the left wing's inner plywood piece is a bit warped. The leading and trailing end touches the fuselage and in the middle there is a 1 mm gap.

What is the best way to correct this? (should I ad a sheet of balsa and try to sand the inner edge absolutely true (I dont have any large sanding tools though and I am a bit concerned that the wing will end up with incorrect angle to the fuselage)

Will the plane hold if I leave the gap?

/Johan

get a piece of hardboard about 3/4" x 6" x 18" and spray glue sandpaper on both sides of it - fine on one side and coarse on the other. Clamp it to your workbench and use it to flatten things like this.

Personally, I would sand as much of the wing as I could to get it flat. If I couldn't get it completely flat without losing too much material, then yes, I would laminate something to it that would allow me to sand it completely flat. I wouldn't use balsa though. Maybe some lite-ply.

SwedeAce , I had this same problem with my Something Extra. I laminated 1/16" balsa to the wing rib at the low areas only. I then blended in the new balsa until it was flat and true with the rib and the fuselage. I hope I wrote that in a way that makes sense. I have been flying this plane for about 3 years and haven't had any problems. It is a great flying airplane. Good luck.

Thanks for your answers.

I will try to glue a large sandpaper to a board and then laminate the wing. By doing that I probably won't take away too much material and hopefully the wing will remain straight.

Hi SwedeAce, most of the se's have the same or worse gap,doesn't brother a thing,the wing tube will keep the wings straight.

This is what i did:

I glued some sandpaper on a hardboard and sanded the wing straight. It took some time because the ply in the inner spar was so hard but I think I got it straight.[&:]

Thanks for all advices: I'll post a picture when the plane is done.

/SwedeAce

SwedeAce,just use the elastic band around the hooks, I can assure you that the wings won't come off.

It it is 1mm I wouldn't worry about it. If you don't like it, get some think foam tape and put it on the root around the whole rib and when you put the spring on to hold the wings it will suck in on the foam tape and seal the gap. That or fill it and sand it like everyone said. Either way will work.

The gap won't hurt anything either, but it looks better without it.

I had the same problem with my left wing and I lamiated a 1\16" piece of balsa to the center part and then used a flat sanding board to even it all out. Then I spread CA all over it to harden it. Speaking of the SE I am going to put the rubber band over the wing hooks per the instructions, but I then am going to put a nylon tie-wrap around that, in case of a band falure. My SE has a YS 63 in it, Will the wings hold????, As soon as it warms up here in NJ and the wind dies down we will see.

Ive got the same issue. I put a little foam tape on it after two flying seasons. Flys great! Don't worry about it, I hold my wings on with rubber bands also.

As you know, the trick with a sandpaper glued to a board worked for me. As you can see there is almost no gap any more (there is no gap if you would ask me..)

Thanks for all advices!



/Johan

My compliments on getting the balsa on the hatch cover to bend over the ribs. I had a heck of a time with splits and had to replace the left one with a new 3/32" piece of balsa. It is now ready to sand, but I did have to patch some to make it look good. I will be doing that probably tonight when I get home. Ok....where is that dust mask I have around here.....

Your smile will be even brighter if you take out (and replace) the Sig push rods before you cover the plane. Mine were really dragging and one finally stripped out

My Left wing also had a larger gap towards the front, almost 1/8" So I glued a piece of plywood towards the front edge, then 1\16 balsa strips along the edges to the rear, then sanded it to get it to sit flat, looks much better.

Finally the model is finished. If the weather is good I will be flying it tomorrow! This kit is an easy build but for me it took a lot of time. It was fun all the way thoug and I hope It flies as good as everyone says in the forums here at RCUNiverse...[&:]