Hi all,
I have a CA models Widebody 60, and I need to cut out the ailerons from the foam wing. I am hinging the ailerons on the top of the wing, so it will be a little bit more complicated, as you are cutting at an angle. Anyway, I am wondering how the hell to do this. I pretty much screwed up the first aileron, and it will need alot of work to get it done nicely. So how should I do the other one and cut the wing?
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reply, as I am desperate.
Thanks,
Robert.

Robert, here's how I did it on my Boxer 60:

Lay out the outline of the aileron , both top and bottom....a template makes it easier to get them identical. THEN, draw a line 1/4" on either side of that line. You're going to cut the surface here and line both the opening and the aileron itself with 1/4" balsa. When you make the cuts, angle the knife blade toward the hinge line; you'll square up the foam after you get everything apart.
After the 1/4" linings are glued on, tack the whole thing back together and plane/carve/sand it all to shape. Cut the appropriate tapers for your style of hinging, install the hinges, and there you are!

Scott

I am unsure of how you messed up the first one, you may still be OK.

What you do is........
You start with the sheeted core and mark out the ROUGH outline of the aileron. Let's say the AILERON is supposed to be 3" wide. Mark and cut at the 3" wide line. What you will end up with is an OVERSIZED ailreon and WING TRAILING EDGE. They are oversized BECAUSE you still need to trim them off so you can add a BALSA LEADING EDGE to the AILERON and a BALSA TRAILING EDGE to the wing.

Now you have the 2 pieces. Mark and CARFEFULLY cut them so you can add say a 3/8" balsa edge. Take your time and cut close to the line then sand flush to the line. Then sand a little clearance between the AILERON and the NEW WING END (where the two come together on the inboard part of the wing. Install a ROOT CAP to the Aileron and an END CAP to the NEW WING END. Use TITEBOND or PRO BOND wood glue to install the leading and trailing edges. Trim sand the ends and BEVEL the edges for throw.

this should get you close. hope it helped

Thanks guys.......I'll try them now. I am going to try to cut the balsa wing skin first, and then cut through the foam, using the methods you two gave me.
Thanks,
Robert.

use a very sharp knife !

Done....Thanks.....

I don't see any body indicating how to deal with the hinge gap. IE when I cut it out, then add the leading edge, trailing edge, if I use 1/4 balsa, then my aileron is now 1/2 inch longer than the trailing edge of the wing? What gets shortened to compensate for this, the wing? And how much, if I do it 1/2" then I stick my hinges in, and my aileron is still further from the wing trailing edge right? What am I missing?

seanreit,

REREAD my post......it states that you rough cut the aileron out and then cut and sand for clearance for the trailing and leading edge. This accounts for the addition of the material to be added.

So in the example of the three inch aileron, the aileron will not be 3" it will be somewhat less? Or do you take it all out of the wing? Is there a standard, or just what works? Also, because of the curvature of the wing, will the aileron then be a little thinner at the joint than the wing before it because of the loss of the 1/2" of material?

Lay out the aileron actual size on the sheeted core. Then draw a line 1/4" on each side of the outline. THIS is your cut line. You end up removing 1/2 inch of material (1/4" from the aileron, 1/4" from the wing) which is replaced by the 1/4" you use to outline the aileron and line the cutout in the wing.
The important thing in making the cut is to angle the knife blade stlighty TOWARD the hinge line, so there's some extra foam that you'll sand away later. You cut about halfway through from each side.

As for the hinge gap, it's just like on any other hinged surface. The front of the aileron is beveled to allow it to move, and the hinge slots can be slightly relieved to get the smallest gap possible. It's all sealed with covering or clear sticky tape, anyway.

As stated in the post just before this one, you end up taking some off of the AILERON and the WING. The AILERON does end up with a meaurement of 3" in the example.

I use my 10" table saw to cut ailerons out, and then face the wing and ailerons with balsa to take up for the saw kerf. It's always arrow straight, with no wandering like you can get with a knife and straightedge. Just set the blade angle and go. I've also done it on my router table using a 1/8" veining bit -- this is a better choice if you are cutting out a barn door aileron, as you can plunge-cut it to start. Of course for both of these methods you need to use the fence!

Robert, you may want to see Mark Novaks's enigma thread in the pattern section on how he cuts the balsa sheeted foam wings/ailerons. The technique is pretty well documented with lots of pics.

I have removed the handle from a xacto med. saw blade, It work great for cutting ailerons from a foam wing plus it comes in handy a lots of other applications

Hi foxx, why do you need to remove the handle ? Just curious how you use it.