how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

i am new to RC planes and have a question.

if the kits are made of balsa, how do you go about making the fuse and wings? since they are curved how do you get the balsa to form to the shape you want? i can see how the "skeleton" of the plane is made from balsa, but how do you cover it with wood?

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

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RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

I suggest you buy a trainer kit and start building........all your questions will be answered clearly!

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

Hi Clam:

It's kinda simple but not. You sheet the fuselage with balsa. To get it to bend you wet the balsa to allow it to bend easily. You can use water(hot water is what I use) or something like Windex. You can put glue on the formers like carpenter's glue and pin the sheeting on until it dries. Or use some CA and using thin glue the sheeting down if you can get at the joints.

Having said this it can get tough. Especially on scale airplanes like WW2 aircraft. Compound curves sharp bends and the like make it diffficult to use a large piece of balsa to sheet with. Many people use strips and plank the fuselage just like a boat hull. Either way water and patience gets the job done. Good luck.

mark Shuman

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

well the thing is, i found plans for a plane, i want to build. there is no kit for it. its a bit confusing.

just wondering if someone could help me out.

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

thanks for the info mark!
i know balsa can be plyable, but not too much. i was thinking that one might use the plank method as on ships, but then it wouldn't look very smooth. would you sand it to a smooth curve afterwards?

ive heard of a think called monokote. lets say you have a wing with the ribs; do people skin the top of the wing with monokote? or is it strictly a tool for aesthetic decoration

i have plans for a plane that i want to build. i found it free on the internet. however it seems kind of sparse and not fit for a newbie.
do you know of any websites/books/magazines that might walk me through a sample plane?

thanks,
chris

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

HEY Clam, Builing R/C planes can offer a lifetime of enjoyment, but believe me, you can't start in the middle!!

First off --do you currently fly??

Second-- it sounds like you have never put together a ARF or Kit---not that there's anything wrong with that...

Third -- if you enjoy building please purchase a trainer kit ( any of a multitude you can read about on these posts) and put it together.
This will teach you how the basic structures are composed and let you become familiar with all the components and terminology.

It sounds like what you are trying to do is start with scratch building which will only confuse and frustrate you.... scratch building is off of plans without the aid or with minimal instructions and believe me it can drive you nuts even if you are fairly experienced at building...

So if you purchase a trainer kit you will have instructions as well as many members here that can aid you in your quest.....

Good Luck and Welcome to the forum !!!!

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

we can help out, but i advise you get a kitt if this is your first plane...

plans are mind bogling if you dont know what your looking at, and especialy if its a advanced plan, plus some plane makers are not as clear as we would like so even us experianced builders have to think about what is going on before putting glue to wood...

if you are 110% sure you want to build this plane then we will help as much as we can, but first what is it? are we talking a trainer, warbird, scale what? some info would help us help you :)

Wingspan..
engine size...
plane name?...

please dont say a b17 or a lancaster with a 95" wingspan ;) lol....

spend a good few days just looking at the plan, and pretend your building it (getting the idea how you would actualy put this thing together)
if your talking about sheeting its not that hard but its still in a higher level of building, but if your talking about say rounded wing tips say like on a piper cub or somthing then the rounded shape is cut from sheet or block balsa, sanded to shape even further and then fitted to where ever ;)

but i realy sugest you get a simple kit first, it will answer sooo many questions and give you that little bit of experience, making model aircraft is like building a lego set its more fun :)

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

hi guys,

thanks for all your help, i really appreciate it.

i have a plane, a gws beaver. this is my first plane. but it was so easy to build and is meant for for flying.
i really like the building part of the hobby, as i always have even when i was into R/C cars. i think building a balsa kit would be perfect for my interests since i love building things.

i will take the advice given to me and get a balsa kit. are there any balsa kits that are comparable in size to gws planes? im asking this so i can use my electronics w/o having to buy an engine, bigger servos, etc.

o yeah, the plan i was looking at was for an x29. guess ill save that gwd file for later!

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

I have seen this many times. People want to build extravegant planes, but don't want to go through the learning steps first. Had one guy start with a royal P-38 because he didn't want to waste the money on other kits. He got about 30% into building and ended up throwing the $250 kit in the garbage because he destroyed it trying to build it. The mistakes were things like sanding all the way through the surfaces, trying to make something smooth, putting pieces in the wrong spot, things like that.

Kit building will teach you a lot. You can scratch later. There are lots of smaller kits, but they won't fly like your GWS planes because you can't get them light enough. You would be better to get a 40 size kit and build it, and get the equipt to fly it.

On the X-29, if you want to build it, build a model that will be a display. You won't be in a position to fly something like that for a while, and if you build a little one and try to fly it, you won't like the results. The hobby is fun, but if you try to take it too fast, you will end up quitting. Sounds harsh, but I have seen it time and time again and not one person that tried to start with too hard of a plane or scratch building too early stayed with it very long.

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

Very wise words Flyboy. I agree 100%. Well said!

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

thanks for the advice flyboy, ill take it.
can you recommend any such kits?

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

DITTO!!

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

An LT-40 from Sig Manufacturing would be my first choise, how ever there are many good trainers out there.

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

Some good advice here....

To more directly answer your question, sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.... here's 3000 worth.:D

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

thanks for the suggestions guys. the thing is, i like to build things. always have. i been involved with RC electric and gas cars for years. i know its a challenge building from a plan, but im not the type to give up. the SIG LT-40 seems pretty easy to put together so that would mean a lot of the fun is taken out

im looking for an electric with aileron control "put it together from scratch" because

1. monetary issues. not that i am not willing to "waste" money on other kits, im in college and i have no money
2. i live in LA with no car, so flying gas isn't really an option anywhere around where i live. electric would be much more convenient because i could walk down the street to the high school baseball field.
3. i have about a years worth of stick time on my gws trainer, and although that may be child's play to you folks, i think its time for me to move to aileron control.

maybe ill just get some balsa models for the time being. only a few bucks. ill see how that goes.

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

Again, I have to agree with the LT-40 suggestion. Sig kits are very well engineered, thought out and DEVELOPED (something some manufacturers don't do - the prototype flew- let's market it). The LT-40 is my first suggestion for a first kit.

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

This is what I'm doing to develop the techniques and skill needed to scratch build. I purchased a kit where the plans showed each rib and former separate. Before building the Kit I went to kinko's or officemax and copied the plans. Then, after I built the kit, I ordered some bulk material and am now building a second plane just from the plans. If you purchase the material from one of the online Balsa suppliers, the material cost is very low compared to a kit. The plane I am now building is a 40 size low wing and the bulk material cost is less than 40.00, and It looks like I will have some left to use for repairs.

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

, but i like to scratch build Clam

this plane you are talking about is a advanced plane as regards flying, i have flown for many yeas and i fly a lot of large warbirds and have flown some strange things but even with all that under my belt i think that would be a tricky plane to fly, if im reading you right you have no ailaron experiance?, well this just answer's your own question, you will throw it into the deck faster than you can say "ohhh damn"..

as regards building, i was the same as you i was brought up around mechanics and building stuff, i and yes i did fall into RC building prety well but we ALL have to start at the begining, there is no short cuts, yes these basic kits are not hard to put together but there is a lot of things you will learn by putting together these simple kits, as for your money problem please dont think scratch building is CHEAPER! becasue its far from it, 90% of my plans are scratch built but i could of had the same size plane built it in half the time for lass money :eek: but i have a many kits under my belt to see me through and even now i scratch my head at some plans ;)....

we aint picking on you, if we got a $ for every person that asks this question we would all be very rich here :)

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

I agree with you ScaleBuff. Most of my planes are made up as I go along. The reason they cost so much is that I don't take any shortcuts. I use first quality everything. Kit manufacturers often supply hardware that I would not even consider using and the wood selection is normally acceptable, but not what I would call ideal for any given appliction.

I don't get to control a whole lot of what goes on in the world, but I do in my shop. But there's a price for that.

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

Have you put anything else together besides the GWS Beaver? If you havent then you really cant say that the LT-40 is a piece of cake to put together. The Beaver is an ARF which could be put together in a few hours. Not the same case with an LT-40......everyone here can tell you about that. If you feel you have acquired enough flying experience to now move to ailerons then get a low wing model like a Fourstar 40. The building is comparable to a trainer kit , still challenging for a newbie, but has aerobatic capability and stability enough for a beginner.

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

Hi Clam, for a wealth of information about any question you could have about anything I have the website for you. I'ts tricky to get to so once you do I suggest you save it to your favorites.
1 go to eastwind models.com
2 go to bottom of page and click LINKS
3 go down to JOHN HAWKINS RADIO CONTROL and click
4 go to bottom of page to how to articles and click there you'll find how to plank and strip balsa for covering and if properly done requires very little sanding it does however require a planking tool a $15.00 investment which most hobbie shops have Tower Hobbies for sure.
Hope this helps, there is also a site at this same spot called Alen Tongs, I think check it out check them all out, about two years worth of reading.
If you have trouble finding it call me I will try to help further 972-289 9469 Mike

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

OK, that was a chore to find. :) Here's the link:

http://www.modelairplanenews.com/how...rip_plank1.asp

Looks like there's a lot of other good info there as well.

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

Way to go you made it real easy for him. Do you think the planking will be as easy as getting to the website?

RE: how to make the wings and fuse with balsa?
 

It's a good article. I think it's just a matter of patience and following the instructions. Even a first attempt should be respectable. Thanks for the link. I hope I wasn't insulting with my comments in my last post.

I just thought the path to the destination was a little long and convoluted and like a lot of people in this hobby, I want to see how other people solve modeling problems so I can build better models. :)