I am in proccess of building 3 sledges @ once for me and buddies.
I am building the left wing first as per manual and im at figure 11 where it shows to put that wing center sheeting on the bottom of the wing. Now assuming that the taper which is now at the BOTTOM while it is pinned down IS the bottom for real that makes the sheeting shown on the TOP of the wing and not the bottom. Am i correct? i assume the taper that is now on the bottom will end up being "dehedral" of sorts

The wing shown in Fig 11 is the bottom. The wing is tapered (thickness) top and bottom. When complete the LE is straight, no dihedral. The solid center sheeting section in Fig 11 won't be there on the top, that's where the hatches are. In other words, you are looking at the bottom of the wing.

First off, I am not sure what you mean about the taper. The wings are built completely straight on the board, as if it was through the fuselage on the airplane. The center of the wing is on the board, while each tip is raised off the board. Is that what you've done? The wing is not completely flat on the board...

As it's pinned down, you're building it upside down. The sheeting you add while it's pinned down is on the BOTTOM of the wing. Laying on the board, you're looking at the BOTTOm of the wing. When you take the wing off and flip it over, that will be the TOP.

Dang Chuck, ya beat me...

Just because I was too lazy to put my Sledge manual away after last time I tried to answer a Sledge question..still setting by the 'puter.

And Constrictor..look ahead to Fig 12..that shows the entire bottom center section sheeting.

And while I'm at it...

One thing that sorta kinda bothers me about the Sledge is the access to the aileron servos. You can't get to them after it is covered. I had to cut my covering to get them in...I had pre-fit them, took them out to cover, then realized I couldn't get them back in. Notice how I have checkerboards (now) over the aileron servos. Weren't always so.

If I have to replace gears or servos, I'll cut the whole mount out thru the bottom rather than cut the covering on the top of the wing. So far..knock on wood.

figure 12 is the exact same photo as figure 11 it is just zoomed closer in. It still looks to me like the wing is built top down and that means the dehedral is actually anhedral on top of the wing! is the wing flat on bottom and tapered on top?

I thought my post might have made sense, but apparently not...

There is no dihedral. There is no anhedral. It is a tapered wing. It's fat in the center and get's thinner out towards the tip! Besides the center section with the hatch and sheeting, the wing is completely symmetrical.

It is built flat on the board, meaning the bottom will get further from the building board towards the tip. The top of the wing will get closer.

YOU ARE BUILDING THE WING UPSIDE DOWN. The sheeting in the center is on the BOTTTOM of the wing. The hatches are on top.

Go back and read the isntructions a couple more times, Jeff did an awesome job with them...

Got ya this time Chuck! I don't need no stinkin' manuel...

Your posts never make sense!! LOL Just kidding, but I couldn't resist.

You asked me where mine balanced..you can see the 1" strip of wood in Fig 12 just above the gap between it and the 3" wide piece. Mine balances just on the rear edge of that 1" piece.

Constrictor, You are reading too much into this. I built mine yesterday and didn't really care what side is up or down. I Just put the 2.5 in wing tip to wing tip balsa sheet on one side and the hatches on the other. The wing is a doubled tapered, no dihedral wing. Pull it off the table and flip it over and you will see it's the same on both sides. Just pick what side you want to be the top.

is the wing built upside down?, like most Morris kits, I have a Sledge kit but haven't opened it yet....G

<scratches head>

Ok i see, it looked like the hold up tabs were holding the wing level on top but i see the taper is both on top and bottom, sorry for the stupid question. Chuck Auger if there are hatches on top the wing why cant you get to the servos from there? One thing i still think is weird is the full length sheeting strip on the bottom. The wing center looks plenty strong enuf to me

The hatches are only in the center section, left side is ele-rud servos, switch, battery, right is thr servo/fuel tank access.

The aileron servos are farther out on the wing with no hatches. Not to say a couple of hatches wouldn't be a good idea except for the fact they would be kinda ugly.

Or there is always the possibility of making the servo hatch mount. I've never tried it, but it would leave no hatches on the top of the wing and full access from the bottom.

The full length sheet on the bottom isn't a big deal, Jeff says it's to put a little twist resistance in. I like it because I didn't have to cap strip the bottom of the ribs.

Jeff told me , he made the serovs out further in the wing so that the control horn would be mounted in the middle of the aileron and therfore keep the aileron from twisting. I can see right now,,,you guys are gonna make me crack open my kit and see how I'm gonna make it so I can get to my aileron servos from the outside....

You might as well get you a Billy Hell Building Coffee Table (BHBCF tm ) and whup it out!

I can laugh, I build in every room but the john...for a while I had a lathe on the kitchen table ...sneek THAT by the wife! LOL

Edit...I just realized the prop pitch station is set up in the john (wet sanding props) so I build in every room officially.

Mine was a pre-production kit, and the directions might have changed. On mine the aileron servos are mounted from the outside of the wing, and not from the inside like the elevator and rudder. So to remove a aileron servo just pull the 4 screws out, and thread the lead through the wing. Tom

yeah Tom, that is what I had invisioned, mounting small peice of hardwood on that sheet on the bottom and screwing the servos in form the outside...G

I guess im not that far yet but how does that strip of sheeting on the bottom prevent the need for cap strips? the ribs arent notched out for the sheeting so i would think it needs cap strips just to make the ribs level with the front and middle sheeting

The strip in the center just gets the center of the rib (chordwise) level with the LE and TE sheeting...not a total capstrip, just enough to jump from LE to TE with the covering.


This just in!
I see the error of my ways!

The pics in Fig #17 & #19 show a servo-sized hole in the sheeting. I mounted mine like the ele/rud servos, thru a hole.

If I had a servo sized hole, I could get the servos out..duh!!

So if you build it per Fig 17 & 19, you will get them out.

I can't, but being an idiot that is my fault.

I would say cap strips on the bottom are optional. The covering can bridge the gap over the rib from the leading edge sheeting to the 2 1/2" sheeting, and from there to the trailing edge sheeting. In this case the covering does not touch the ribs. Tom

Looking now at the pics...

I mounted the Ail servos same as the others, even though the manual clearly shows cut-outs for the aileron servos. Gee..if I had of looked at those pics, I could have removed the aileron servos a lot easier.

Well, I'm 0-2 in Sledge questions, so feel free to disregard any Sledge answers I give or have given.

The good news is..even built by an idiot, it is an awesome flying plane.

What are you guys using for an engine on this plane? Will be starting mind very soon.

Doug

Webra speed 40 on a pipe.........

I know I know..........everybody wants more power...... I'll put that Webra up against any 46 out there...............With the same prop (12-4 APC) .......................John

I have a Webra .32 on one that is lightened to the extreme, and a Saito .72 on the other. Anything in between these should work OK. Tom