I am building a four star 60 and after installing the stab and confirming equal distance from wing TE to stab TE on each side of the stab.. as per the instructions. I then glued the stabin place with 5 min. epoxy...Then I glued the fin/rudder in place , aligning it with a square, again..per instruction book. I notice now after the epoxy's good and set..that the angle of the stab in relation to the wing is 2-3 degrees off[:@] Is this a serious problem? I was hoping trim might compensate for this slight difference. What are the thoughts of the experts? If I have to take this off...It's gonna be a real pain in the butt!!

It will cause tracking problems. Try putting some foam tape on the wing saddle side that is low to align the wings with the stab.

That is an excellent Idea!! It won't take much to lift wing up to level.... Thank-You

what does the plans and instructions say should be there. Of the 15 or so kits I'v built I've had incedences that were buillt in from -2 to +3 degrees of incedence that was desighned into the model on purpose. Most are 0-1 degree.
Also what are you using to determine this. center of the stabe to center of the stab. center of the wing to center of the wing. My point is if it is a symentrical or even semi semitrical wing ot can appear to be a negative incedence when it is 0. Just a thought

Redfox435cat:

I am referring to an angle across the stab from left to right that differs from the wing angle left to right by around 2-3 degrees. This is as viewed from the rear of the fuse looking toward the nose. The right side of stab is higher than the left side "slightly"
And this is off angle from the wing which is somewhat straight across. I was not referring to incidence (fore-aft angle)
But rather lateral(?) angle. Hope this clarifies...

P.S. How did you upload your drawing? I tried to upload a paint drawing but bmp files are not supported....

oh my bad. yes that will cause tracking problems and will make loops a very difficult manuver. it will turn more one way and less the other.

as far as the pics save it as a.jpg then it'll work. the upload doesn't support .bmp

I found that by adding a small amount of wing saddle tape to line the wing to the stab works perfect. The wing and stab are parrallel to each other when the one wing is "lowered" slightly. I wonder why the instructions don't mention this angle when they tell you to glue things together. They mention equal distances from wing TE to each side of stab TE...and they mention verical fin square to stab...but they fail to mention the angle of stab in relation to the wing. I know previous arf's I've built mention this angle, and I should have remembered but didn't...Oh well, build and learn I guess.

You should be able to "unglue" your horizntal stablizer with a heat gun give it a good blast of heat a see if it will soften up the epoxy enough that you can pull it off and realign it.

Or, you could sand the high side of your main wing saddle. This should be done carefully, but would be the best way to fix it--that way you wouldn't have foam on just one side.

If I heat this thing up, I can see the covering coming off, and the vertical fin would need to come off as well. I am really not opposed to having tape on only one side, or sanding the saddle down on the high side. But I do not want to hit this thing with a heat gun unless absolutely necassary