Hi Guys-


I'm having an issue with my VQ P-40. I'm affixing the wing to the fuselage for the first time, and there's a gap of approximately 1/8" where the wing meets the fuselage on both sides... I attached a pic.


This is not flyable like this and I don't know what to do. I emailed Tomas at VQ and I'm waiting to hear back. In the meantime, any suggestions?

Thanks-
Gerry

iv been in the same position before and it was a case of geting some large wing bands cuting them to make a long strip, then glue them with cyno onto the fuselage where the wing would sit, once the cyno fully cures trim the rubber to your requirements, it is a good trick to do as it helps the wing sit comfortuble on the model and helps cut vibration transfere to the wing from teh fuselage and engine. it will be a case of the locating hole was drilled slightly out. aslong as the 1/8th gap is equal front and back there should be no real problem, the rubbr should then help fill that gap hope this helps

wrap the wing with saran wrap,lay a bead 1/8" wide of 100 % silicone chaulk on the wing saddle ,mount the wing ,wait 24 hours to cure,trim off the excess you now have sealed gap.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I appreciate it.

Ok.... these solutions are all ignoring the real issue, and that is the wing is not seating properly in the wing saddle. I've built quite a few of the VQ birds and have run accross this once or twice. I beleive the problem is with the tongue on the center of the wing that slides into the skinny slot in the fuselage to hold the leading edge of the wing in place. If it dosen't seat fully in, it will cause this problem. You may have to sand the tongue a little to get it to seat into the slot all the way. This should fix your problem.

I agree with miklos I had just builded a VQ and had the same problem I just sanded and refit the wing to the saddle, looks good now. ARF are good and fast to build. But I myself like to rebuild Modules and make them better than new.

all great suggestions but , you should email Thomas , check on what the wing incidence should measure , any change to make the wing fit or adjusting the "fill" could change the angle of attack and impact the way the plane flys .

Make sure it is an actual gap there. Can't tell from the photo, but could it be that the wing fillets are simply attached a bit high?

I have the same issue on my VQ P-51B "Swiss" - the shape of the wing saddle and the wing don't even come close to matching.

ALL ARE GOOD SUGGESTIONS AND ALL WILL WORK. I LIKE SILICONE, ONLY BEING THAT IT CAN BE REMOVED IF NEEDED. REMEMBER THE FRONT AND BACK ARE IN PLACE TIGHT AND THE SILICONE WILL ABSORBE SOME OF THE SHOCK THE WING RECEIVES FROM LANDINGS. i HAVE THE BLACK & RED P-40. BUT NONE OF MY MAIN PLANES HAVE THAT ISSUE. BUT MY HIGH WINGS & SONIC PLANES DO.
D.L.THOMAS
U.S.ARMY (RET)</p>

The problem is when the wing does not sit in the saddle right - the airplane don't fly straight. besides that the dowels in the front wear out and the back screw holes get sloppy.
If you like to fix that, then fix it right. Cover your wing with your cookie sheet and use epoxy. After the epoxy has dried put a very small beat on top of the epoxy. This guarantees the wing is a little under pressure in the saddle area.
The right fix ... makes pilot and airplane happy