Combat leading wing tip material
02-05-2010, 02:43 PM
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Combat leading wing tip material
What is the best material to fasten to the leading edge to assist in grabbing the otheropponents streamer. I,m going to be building a couple of combat planes this winter I just want to do a little more research before purchasing a couplekit's or the stuff to scratch build a couple of planes. Also what are the lites best inexpensive servos that most combat pilots use. I know most people are using three channel planes butare there some guys using four channel setups.
02-05-2010, 03:39 PM
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RE: Combat leading wing tip material
Sticky is a mostly a personal preference, and there are a number of options that work well.
I personally use the tanglefoot insect barrier from the tub. It's nasty stuff, but keeps working in just about any weather you'll likely fly in. (I did discover that it ices over quickly if you fly in a snowstorm, but I don't consider that to be a major issue). The biggest draw back to this stuff is that it's hard to clean off the plane, and stains clothing and stuff, gets everywhere, and tastes bad.
A lot of guys are using bird repellent that comes in a caulking tube, which makes it really fast and easy to apply. It also appears to hold up and stay sticky almost as well as the tanglefoot, and might be better in some weather conditions.
For both of those, and other applied sticky goos, cleanup is a lot easier if you put on some 2" wide low-tack masking tape over the LE of the wing first, like the blue stuff.
Some guys use double-sided tape, but you have to stay on top of that because if it's dusty or there is a lot of pollen in the air, you have to replace the tape fairly often. But it cleans up quick and easy.
For servos, I use Hitec, usually 3xx series with some 425's thrown in. A lot of guys are using the less expensive servos from china. I can get parts for Hitec servos and fix them when the get broken, but the chinese servos are so cheap, it's not a big deal to toss them. I also like using a standard brand so stuff like arms and gear sets are easy for me to have spares of. Just about any servo will work though, so use what you like or have.
I personally use the tanglefoot insect barrier from the tub. It's nasty stuff, but keeps working in just about any weather you'll likely fly in. (I did discover that it ices over quickly if you fly in a snowstorm, but I don't consider that to be a major issue). The biggest draw back to this stuff is that it's hard to clean off the plane, and stains clothing and stuff, gets everywhere, and tastes bad.
A lot of guys are using bird repellent that comes in a caulking tube, which makes it really fast and easy to apply. It also appears to hold up and stay sticky almost as well as the tanglefoot, and might be better in some weather conditions.
For both of those, and other applied sticky goos, cleanup is a lot easier if you put on some 2" wide low-tack masking tape over the LE of the wing first, like the blue stuff.
Some guys use double-sided tape, but you have to stay on top of that because if it's dusty or there is a lot of pollen in the air, you have to replace the tape fairly often. But it cleans up quick and easy.
For servos, I use Hitec, usually 3xx series with some 425's thrown in. A lot of guys are using the less expensive servos from china. I can get parts for Hitec servos and fix them when the get broken, but the chinese servos are so cheap, it's not a big deal to toss them. I also like using a standard brand so stuff like arms and gear sets are easy for me to have spares of. Just about any servo will work though, so use what you like or have.
02-11-2010, 02:26 PM
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RE: Combat leading wing tip material
Agree with Kirk. I would add that the Tanglefoot seems to get pretty thin when it is really hot and sunny, while the bird repellent gets very stiff when it's shilly. So I tend to use bire repellent during warm season, and tanglefoot when cold. When we have occasions like our August 2008 meet, when we had sleet (that's right, frozen water coming from the sky in August), it can be a challenge to decide which one to use......
Putting the 2" blue tape on the LE is a godsend. But the goo still gets on the plane from midairs, on your forearm and leg hair, etc. Mineral sprits or vegetable oil works as a solvent. I put vegetable oil in a water bottle, and with some old rags it makes a clean-up kit for field use.
two-sided carpet tape works very well in any temp but does not stick well to wings that have any exh residue, or any moisture (ie on damp morning, rainy days, etc.)
Putting the 2" blue tape on the LE is a godsend. But the goo still gets on the plane from midairs, on your forearm and leg hair, etc. Mineral sprits or vegetable oil works as a solvent. I put vegetable oil in a water bottle, and with some old rags it makes a clean-up kit for field use.
two-sided carpet tape works very well in any temp but does not stick well to wings that have any exh residue, or any moisture (ie on damp morning, rainy days, etc.)
