I am building a Lightning Dart ARF. I am posting this message in hopes of getting ideas from scratch builders on how to make the wing tip stabilizer removable for easy transport to the flying field.

I have made numerous modifications to this ARF to make it better in my opinion. However, the wing tip stabilizers present a major problem for transporting the plane to and from the flying field. They are just asking for damage as they are built very light weight as expected.

I thought I would avoid the "OH no" issue by making these stabilizers removable. I would like something simple and quick as I hate major assembly at the field. I thought I would drill a hole through the wing near the center of the stabilizer to accommodate an attachment screw that would screw into a nut on the bottom of the stabilizer.

Anyone got any thoughts on how I could accomplish this modification?

If this was a scratch build adding some spot point reinforcement to the tip fins to allow for screw or pinning in place would be an option. You may still try it but without the harder inserts to accept the retention pins or screws a hard flip over landing will likely result in damage to the anchor points. The flight loads are not the issue. In fact for flight loads only you could just add some tape or covering to the base of the fins to provide a light press fit insertion load to the slot and then tape them into place and call it good. It's the "arrival" loads that will be the issue. If you're pretty sure you won't dork it hard enough to flip over on a regular basis you may want to try using layers of tape or covering material to provide a snug'ish fit of the fins to the slots and then just use some tape or even a modeling pin as the lock in method.

BMathews, thanks for the reply. The fins are built very light and would probably break off without damage to the anchor point should the plane flip over even if they are glued in place. That is an issue I had not thought of. Digging out the remains from the slot to repair/replace a broken fin would be ugly.
I agree that the in-flight forces may not require a hard anchor but lost of a fin in flight may not be good for flight characteristics (unstable yaw). I would be nervous that the fin would pop out if it was just held in by friction. They currently fit pretty tight but that will loosen as they are reinserted repeatedly.
Maybe a threaded rod embedded in the fin with a nut on the bottom of the wing will suffice.

Seriously, a couple of wooden toothpicks inserted into holes that pin the fins in place is more than enough for flight loads assuming a lack of flutter. And toothpicks would provide at least a chance of letting the fins break away in an "arrival" or a tip over. If the fins work loose over time a U of monokote or other covering over the stub end will restore the friction fit enough so they don't actually wobble.

BMathews,
Thanks for yet another solution to this issue.

I found two aluminum aileron horns in my spares box. They are the tower (post) type horns. I glued them into balsa and cut the balsa into a square as shown in the photos. The aileron horn was for a 90 size plane so the screw was a bit big. I used it anyway as it was free stuff. Like you said, toothpicks would have been enough so this is 100 times overkill.

I attached a few photos of the mod but now I have removable tips .