I'm thinking to create corrugated surfaces on a plane's ailerons/elevators. Is there a thread somewhere that discusses how to do it? I want to do it on a regular ultracote covered surface.

Arman, here's a thread I started when I was looking for info ( I found the materal at SIG):
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_23...tm.htm#2320057

Tim, thanks for the quick and helpful reply. I browsed on the SIG product lineup but couldn't find the exact material. I guess I will just give them a call. Btw, did it really work for your project? I was thinking to do like the others suggested i.e., to glue tiny wood strips on the balsa and cover it but was a little worried that the covering may not stick properly specially if I want to make the spacing really close to each other.

Try some of the styrene roofing material from the hobby shop. I would think doing it with covering would be very difficult.

Check the Topflite Piper Arrow thread. and look at the instruction manual you can download at Topflite..

Vaillancourt's plans for the L-19 BirdDog say to use small plastic "V" strips from Plastruct. Most hobby shops that cater to the model R.R. crowd will have lots of the stuff in many different sizes. Ca them in place and then finish the area with some kind of filler or finishing resin, then paint.

Arman, right after I rounded up the materials, I started a job out of state and I'm ashamed to say I never have got going on it. I've stripped the old corrugated off the ailerons and flaps, but have never found a way to get the old glue off the balsa. I've tried about everything in the world. My building skills are extremely limited to put it nicely. One of these days though.

Thanks for the nice ideas guys. I checked out the Topflite Piper Arrow thread and the manual and I guess that's the direction I'm going. The manual explains the procedure in detail which involves some work but looks doable to me. Thanks again.

Arman,

Try downloading the Construction Manual for the Top Flite C182. They show how to do it for ailerons and
tail feathers.

Andy

When I did my Airtruk I used "Plastruct" styrene "T" beams, cut them to length and glued them to the Ultracote using RC56 canopy glue. Tedious, but works very well and any "misses" with the glue doesn't show, plus, it does not "fog" as CA tends to do.

Thanks, Andy but I think Campy just changed my mind. That plane looks really nice. I guess it's time to visit the hobby shop again to get some of those Plastruct stuff after all. Knowing that I can glue them directly to the ultracote makes it more easier for me. I have used the canopy glue in some projects and I agree that it is much easier and cleaner to work with compared to CA.

I've been away from R/C and working in smaller scales. I have used a mylar streamer from Paper Art that looks great. I have seen it at different widths at the craft store. Here are a couple of pics. This stuff is very light but not very rigid. Might be a good fit on smaller surfaces like trim tabs and stuff like that.

SeYa ....

Hi folks - I was asked a question as to why the ailerons and flaps are corrugated...can anyone guide me as to why they are?...

thanks a lot!
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"Hi folks - I was asked a question as to why the ailerons and flaps are corrugated...can anyone guide me as to why they are?"

Thin, flat aluminum sheet is very flexible. The corrugations give them stiffness, without increasing the thickness/weight. Try it with a piece of paper.

Les

Hello,

I wanted to make realistic corrugated control surfaces for my TopFlite T34 project. Because of the nature of the corrugations and after much head scratching I decided to build my own vacuum forming machine. After that I had to make all the formers out of Formica. It was months of extra work but I am very pleased with the results.

Hi Les,
The reason for the corrugations on the Cessna surfaces is to reduce weight and at the same time increase strength of the sheet metal.the sheet metal is very thin but the corrugations are very ueffactive.

"Thin, flat aluminum sheet is very flexible. The corrugations give them stiffness, without increasing the thickness/weight."

I thought that was what I said.

Les

As did I. Hmmmm.