I am building a Telemaster40 and would like to bolt he wing down instead of the rubberband option. The wing does not have a dihedral brace to stiffen the wings and just skin sheeting on top and bottom. It relys on the fiberglass tape to guarentee a tight wingroot bond. Any clever ideas on how to install bolt down hardware that wouldn't rip out of the skin?

Navy sure do. Make 2 dihedral braces out of 1/4" aircraft (not lite) plywood. One will go on the front of the spars. One will go behind the leading edge. They will have a tab hanging down below the sheeting about 3/4 to 1 inch. Replace the front bulkhead with 3/16 or 1/4" ac plywood. do not put the windshield pieces in until the wing is built. Square up the wing and drill 2 1/4" holes in the bulkhead through both tabs. Epoxy 2 dowels in with about 1/4" sticking through the front bulkhead. To make a mount for the bolts. Use 1/4" plywood and make a "U" that fits the back of the cabin. Lay it in paralell to the top surface where the bolts go through the wing. Do not forget to put some balsa under the sheeting where you plan to put the bolts. This is to keep the sheeting from compressing. You drill the bolt holes the size of the tap for 1/4-20. Tap the mount (or use blind nuts, your choice). Then go through the wing with 1/4" drill. Harden the threads and hole with thin CA and you are done. You may want to retap the holes again to clear any clumps of CA.

Last year RCM did an article on an upgrade to the RCM Advanced trainer. The method is layed out there. There is even pictures. Once you see it it will seem simple. There was athread about a month ago on this. There was several ideas how to do it and some nice pictures by Minnflier. Including this method. Good luck with your Tele.

Mark Shuman