GL Qs

[silentfly]

Hey guys ...
Im building a gentle lady at the moment and its the first balsa kit for me.
Im up the the stage where i have to put the nylong strip onto the wing, and the instructions says that just glue it on.
What type of glue should i use?

Thanks to all the people from thermaling 4 begginers thread who answered my previouse questions the help is greatly appreciated but decided not to waste any more post on that thread so i started this one! :p

thanks guys

[e-sailpilot86]

Well, when I built my GL, I just used some standard CA to glue on the nylon strip. I don't see the material being beneficial for strength like fiberglass or carbon, but I think it might be for two things: Holding the balsa sheeting together at the center seam, and to protect the balsa from getting grooves/ indentations from the rubber bands that hold the wing down. It's not as good of a remedy as having a more solid wood used in the center, but it helps. One real important tip. If you use CA, do it outside or someplace with excellent ventillation, and keep your head clear of the strip. I got pretty woozy/dizzy and my eyes burned when I did it, should've used my head with that one! Get a fan and blow the air away from you.

[sailhigh]

I just finished my 3rd GL wing. If you're referring to the fiberglass tape that goes around the center section, I've attached that using epoxy. Here's a hint. tac glue the begining of the tape with CA, then spread epoxy on the wood, lay the tape down and brush on a bit more on top until translucent. Work the whole wing, making sure you don't have any wrinkles. That's all there is to it.
Good luck,
Sean

[Brew Glider]

Hey there Sailhigh,

I have a Soph Lady that has 450+ launches off a good size high start. I also have been winch launching recently but I also have done more mods to the wing. It is really strong because I have a spruce spar top capping the wing cord. There was a three part article in Model Aircraft Mag in the early eighties. The author was correct. The wing is really strong yet still very light.

Happy lift
Brew Glider

[silentfly]

Hey guys...thanks for the responses and just for the record, i CA on THe nylon since it drys faster so i can progress onto sanding the wing..and thats where i made another mistake.... :(

[silentfly]

As you can see the right picture of the left outer wing panel's wing tips are over sanded and the right wing tip(left pic) is sanded just right...i think...however how do i correct the left wing tip????

And also i need to add a bit of weight onto the right wing but where do i put the weight? near the wing tip or usea heavier weight toward the centre of the wing???
sorry for the fuss and tedious questions
thanks again

[lp3]

Put weight at the tip.

[sailhigh]

Just cut a nice squarish piece of the bad wing tip and add a chunk of balsa in it's place and sand to shape. As for the weight, I made a couple of holes in those same wing tips and epoxied the right amount of lead inside them for balance.
Sean

[silentfly]

cool as...thanks for the tips guys
just finnished the Fuze last night!!
Hopefullly it will be ready for covering soon!

[e-sailpilot86]

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/peace.gif

[R. Carver]

When you use triangle stock for the wingtips, don't try and sand the profile shape into the tip-just sand it to the shape of the airfoil and the profile will take care of itself ;)

[silentfly]

:rolleyes: Alright! the Gl is ready for covering now...im gonna use solarfilm..
But i dont have a hobby iron and im planning to use a normal household iron..is it goiong to be more difficult? And should i set it on silk mode and put something like a pillow case over the solarfilm to prevent it from stiking to the iron......
suggestions any one ??? :D
thks again

[e-sailpilot86]

Whoa there buddy!!! Yeah, it's going to be much more diffficult with a household iron. You really need the ease of handling that a hobby iron gives you. In US dollars, they're about $16-$18 (24-28 NZD), not that much money over here, and they're worth more than they cost (well...sort of). Set your hobby iron just behind the middle setting for heat, and follow the instructions on the label that comes with most all rolls of covering film. For regular covering film, you want the iron at about 3/4 power. When you become real skilled (takes a couple of planes!), then you may be able to speed along at full heat.

[Sparky Paul]

Solarfilm is really sensitive to heat. An ordinary laundry iron might be OK. Test it on a small piece, at a less than full heat setting.

[e-sailpilot86]

Ever ironed a plane with a laundry iron Sparky? ;) Is solarfilm similar to the stuff toddsmodels sells? http://www.toddsmodels.com

[silentfly]

Whoa there buddy!!! Yeah, it's going to be much more diffficult with a household iron. You really need the ease of handling that a hobby iron gives you. In US dollars, they're about $16-$18 (24-28 NZD), .

WOW! are they really that cheap in USA?? At my LHS its around $80 nz (thats like 2months poket money....)...i better find a job soon!! :rolleyes:
I just coverd the tail...a few wrinkles and the film shrunk quite well...but it was darn hard!! baybe i should use a lower heat setting at first then use a higher heat setting to shrink it...
any ways ill post a pic after im done..
thanks for the recommendations

[Sparky Paul]

Ever ironed a plane with a laundry iron Sparky? ;) Is solarfilm similar to the stuff toddsmodels sells? http://www.toddsmodels.com
.
ISTR using a laundry iron about 30 years ago for my first Monokote jobs.
I still have the planes, but not the iron. :)

I think solarfilm is also called Nelson Lite.. a really thin film which responds poorly to heat, wrinkling and getting all nasty. Sticks to itself very well. Just try to seperate it when it's stuck! :(

[WGH]

Ever ironed a plane with a laundry iron

I did 20 years ago, ruined my moms iron had monokote stuck all over it, anyway it does work just not well and I don't recommend it. Solarfilm is a low temp covering if you apply to much heat you'll have a big mess. I personally vary the temp when covering, I use a lower temp to tack it down and seal the edges, I bump the heat up for shrinking and I really bump it up for stretching around wing tips and pointy noses.

Do yourself a favor splurge and get a good hobby iron, while you're at it pick up a heat gun they work great for shrinking large areas with out all the little dents and scratches that irons leave