I was sitting in the shop listening to old Merle Haggard 8-tracks and wondering why the cord on my trim iron was so short and why I... wait, that's another forum.



Can anybody give me some pointers on the best way to cover the wing-fuse juction on a one piece airframe (Uproar .40) with the wing glued to the fuse? I had the same problem on my stinger.

I have tried the strips like you do on square joints, but as this area is rounded, I end up using 15-20 small strips to get it somehat wrinkle free. Any ideas??

Thanks.

Well your doing it the only way I know how... I don't think there is a way to do it 100% wrinkle free.

Hey Bear750: I covered a Gee Bee profile for a friend. What I did was cut a piece of covering about 1" wide and about 2" longer than the cord of the wing. I then folded it in half length wise. Then on one side of the fold only, I cut slits to within about 1/16 of an inch of the fold, about every 1 1/2"s. I laid the solid half of the fold on the wing, and the part with the slits against the fuse, turned up my iron about 50 degrees, to help the covering form at the 1/16" that was left on the fuse side of the fold. Then just covered the rest as usual. It turned out great. Always happy to help if I can. Garry

Try this...

Use a piece wide enought to cover the area with a little to spare. Tack down the forward part just in the center of the curve. (Note, having a few extra hands would help from here on). hold the plane while someone holds the covering from the rear. Apply heat gun to the covering starting at the front and as you work the heat back, the person holding the covering will have to lay it in place as you heat (probably pulling as you go). Don't try to get it perfect, just get it in place (another note, use Ultracote, it shrinks much better than MK). Next tack down the sides. Then get a rag or heavy wool mitten... Heat a section of covering, then quickly press it into place with the rag. This should get it to about 90%. To get out any remaining spots, do the same thing, but use a cool, wet rag.

Garry - that's a good idea. I had thought about it, but hadn't tried it yet. Thanks

Minnflyer - I have tried the tack then stretch, but I can't keep the corner tucked and the sides tacked at the same time (I also only have two hands, so I may be at a slight disadvantage).

Thanks guys

I save the off-cut pieces of wood that the either the root rib came from, or the one that came from the fusalage, as this makes a perfect pattern of the curve of the foil your wanting to fare in.

Almost every time if you use that pattern to cut your covering it will come out perfect. The film(I use Monokote, but it all works) has enough give that you can easily get an overlap. If you take alot of care you can cut a hole out of it to clear your wing(using the very stock it came from for a template), cut it ever so slightly undersize and get excellent results, and you can cover your fusalage side in one piece. You only need maybe 3/16" overlap and then get a good seal on it and your set.

The patterns are a given in any kit, you just have to identify them and put them aside until you need them. I do hope this helps.

Hey DGrant: My way gave me beautiful results, but your way sounds better yet. Unless it's an arc. or a recover job. Got any hints for these, they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Always glad to help if I can. Garry

Garry, the same holds true for anything if you have a pattern to go by. Rather then try to "shoot in the dark" so to speak, if there's no pattern to go by, make one.

Sure it might take 30minutes or so, give or take, but end result will surely be worth it. The film covering is not cheap(yeah, I know, $10 or $12 a roll) when you consider 2 to 3 rolls per plane though, that can be almost $40 for a covering job....so you want the most out of it.

Start with a simple piece of paper or cardboard and just start drawing or trimming, get it close as you can. It will still beat trying to do it with much more expensive film. Paper is cheap, and you can restart/redo it and it won't cost a thing. For applications like the one above it will work. Have fun and I hope everyone's plane comes out good.

What I do even on arcs is cut thin, maybe 1/2 inch strips, short enough to make the bend, long as possible, and use thick CA to put them on intead of heat. Then I cover the surface, covering as much of the piece I used to do the corner as possible, without causing a bubble or kink. Seems to work well. No gaps and nothing comes loose later.

Thanks DGrant: I've tried that before, but having 3 right thumbs I couldn't make it work satisfactorily. However your suggestion jogged the gray pea into motion, and I think a combination of the suggestion I made to Bear750, and your suggestion, might make it easier the next time I cover something that the wing and fuse do not separate on. Thanks again for your help. Always glad to help, but even happier to learn something.

$ircra$halot, I agree - I start running out of ideas when I think about a project too long. Thanks everybody.

D

My pleasure gentlemen. Between all these ideas, and ...well... the most important factor.. .. practice, bear750, your fillets/joints will look very good, the more you do, the better they'll get. Have fun.

Remember too, mistakes are areas of opportunity for learning...good luck.