Anyone have a suggestions how to make some support rods to support the horizontal stabilizer to the fuse and fin? I tried making some with small paino wire with ring lugs for electrical wire soldered on each end. Looks good but the copper ring lug cracked from vibration, which didn't suprise me after i thought about it. It's on a 60 sized plane. Thanks in advance! Keith

Can you bend the piano wire into a loop on each end of the support rod? If so, you could bend one loop so that it will lie in the plane of the fin and the other so it will lie in the plane of the stab. Then put a small screw through each loop.

Sullivan sells a flying wire kit for this purpose.

Instead of using piano wire and copper lugs, use regular control rod material (2-56 is plenty big) and electrical spade connectors that have the plastic doohickey that you crimp. Pull the plastic thing off, and the rod will fit perfectly into the place where the electrical wire normally fits. Solder the control rod into the spade terminal, which already has a small screw hole in the spade end and can be drilled to your desired screw size. the red ended terminals are perfect for 2-56 size rods, and the blue ended terminals are right for 4-40 size rods. The control rods solder more easily than piano wire, and are marginally lighter. Even though they bend easier, if you hit the tail hard enough to bend them, you're gonna break something else anyway.

I like the idea of spade connectors. They have substantially more material than the ring lugs I used. I'll give them a try. If they crack from the vibration I'll try to find the Sullivan parts. I think the piano wire is to stiff to bend sharp enough to go around a 2-56 screw. Thanks for the suggestions! Keith

I never tried it but you could probaly go to the fishing department at walmart or a fishing supply store and get some steal fishing leader, it comes with crimps so you can make a loop at the ends.

Keith:

I just made a pair for the horizontal stab on my GP Giant Big Stick. I used Great Planes nylon strut fittings (Tower part # LXK166) and two pieces of carbon fiber rod. Works great and very light weight also.

Works for me.

Dan

The steel leader wire looks good, especially on a WWI plane that uses actual wire, but they tend to stretch and get slack over time. Most of your 30's planes used stiff rod instead of wire, Cubs use the rods, so it isn't "out of scale" sort of. I have used these spade terminals for a while now, never had one break from vibration.

The spade connectors work great and they're quick and simple.

If you don't mind a little more work, you can also make adjustable ones:
1) Thread a clevis onto the end of the 2-56 rod.
2) Solder an un-threaded clevis onto the other end of the rod.

3) Make, drill and bend some brass tabs to bolt to the fin, stab and fuse bottom.
The clevises attach to the brass tabs.
Now you have a brace wire with one adjustable end and one fixed end. You can adjust the length of the brace wire by twisting the threaded clevis 1/2 turn at a time.

I just take 1/2 of the clevis off and bend the other side to fit the angle. This gives adjustment for the threaded end of the rod.

Solder the unthreaded end of the rod into a clevis that is setup for soldering or "adjust" one that is threaded.