My Shoestring Stunter is RTF

Whooowee, nothing is as easy as it looks, is it.
After fixing the wing structure, I'm picking off all sorts of old glue and gunk stuck to the wood of the wing skeleton. Some peels off and other bits have to be picked off. I had some good luck with acetone-wet sand paper, glad I tried that. I got over zealous a couple of times and cracked a friggin rib, so when I hear a crack, I stop and find it and CA it... all the while feeling like a Klutz... and then carry on.

I started sanding the fuse, the paint has some cracks in it and I'll have to give it a light coat to smooth it out. I can tell I've sand off at least one full coat of yellow paint as I see the color change while I sand and I've gotten down to wood in a couple of places. Where I've exposed wood it looks like it was sealed pretty well before the original paint went on. I'll give it a thin coat of black and red all over, hoping it doesn't get too heavy.

I cut off the elevator and rudder and have new ones already made. The stab can stay on. The hinges were very brittle, I'm glad I got rid of them. I'll sew new ones using the same method as I used on the Refried Bean. I wish I had black Monokote for the tail, but paint will do.

So I took a break and came in to chill for a while, decided to post this update, and now I'm headed back out to work on it some more.

Sounds like most builds, two steps forward and one back.

Onwards!!!!

cribbs74 wrote:Sounds like most builds, two steps forward and one back.

Onwards!!!!

Words of the wise!

hey buddy, if your gonna sew hinges you might be better off with paint as the hinges might cause oil soak with monokote or seal real good with glue.

Rusty,

Ken suggested that I use pin hinges on my Ringmaster. You just slot the elevator and stab and then epoxy them in. They are really smooth and real easy to install. They are really cheap too.

Just a thought.

Ron

Okay, it was an interesting night in the shop. It's going to be paint, but first I started sanding to see how far I could get. I tried rubbing with acetone and the paint started coming off pretty easily. I tried some Goo Gone and it worked even better. The whole stab, and I don't know what else, maybe the fuse too, is covered with a layer of fine fabric. Luckily my stripping chemicals don't bother it. Now here's what I've got:

The cell phone picture doesn't show the fabric but it's there


I decided I need to do this outdoors, so I moved on to the wing, sanded everything one last time, cleaned it up and put some Monokote on it. It looks pukey in the pic, but it's missile red Mono, same as the red on my Streak. No wrinkles either.



I'm going to smooth out the repair with spackle and paint the rear fuse red, and the tail feathers black. The front end color depends on how tired I get of stripping paint. Maybe some fresh yaller will look okay, and a black cheek with the Shoestring decal on it. I have all of the decals.

The weather is going to be cold and windy tomorrow so I should make some more progress.

cribbs74 wrote:Rusty,

Ken suggested that I use pin hinges on my Ringmaster. You just slot the elevator and stab and then epoxy them in. They are really smooth and real easy to install. They are really cheap too.

Just a thought.

Ron

I don't have any, so I'll just sew it. Besides it makes me look like an expert to all those lazy arfers out there.

RknRusty wrote:

cribbs74 wrote:Rusty,

Ken suggested that I use pin hinges on my Ringmaster. You just slot the elevator and stab and then epoxy them in. They are really smooth and real easy to install. They are really cheap too.

Just a thought.

Ron

I don't have any, so I'll just sew it. Besides it makes me look like an expert to all those lazy arfers out there.

Lol, OK I added pics so you can see what it looks like, maybe next time. The hinges are available at any LHS.

That does look sweet, I'll consider it. My lame-ass car train and ARF hobby shop might have them. Do you have to buy a slotting tool too?

RknRusty wrote:That does look sweet, I'll consider it. My lame-ass car train and ARF hobby shop might have them. Do you have to buy a slotting tool too?

You could, but lazy arfers like myself just use a blade........

They are usually found on the dubro/great planes parts rack.

I've used the pin hinges and used my hobby knife to make the slots. But I like the CA hinges way better. They are the same type of hinge and install the same way except you don'thave to use epoxy or lube the pin. I have even cut the CA hinges intosmall strips for 1/2A's.

duke.johnson wrote:I've used the pin hinges and used my hobby knife to make the slots. But I like the CA hinges way better. They are the same type of hinge and install the same way except you don'thave to use epoxy or lube the pin. I have even cut the CA hinges intosmall strips for 1/2A's.

Yep me too, I do the same thing for the 1/2A's.

I wanted to try these things out and see how they work. They are very fluid and don't have memory. Time will tell.......

Cribbs, you're not a lazy arfer. Besides my general insults are exempted for any CEF members. Duke, I've heard much malignment of the CA hinges for high stress aerobatic planes. Have you used them in such rough applications?

I didn't take it personally, I thought it was funny!

On a more serious note all my 1/2A planes have cut down easy hinges. I have never had a problem in flight however, when I crash (which I do often) sometimes the elevator will slam forward and tear the hinges out along with a bit of balsa. It makes a real mess and it's hard to fix. I suppose that could happen with any hinge though.

Ron

Rusty
I use the CA hinges on all my planes now. The RC guys told me about them and they use them on speed, race, and stunt planes. I've heard nothing bad about them. Now for your PA stunt planes, they wnat somehting really smooth, but I don't think any of us are talking about that. Oh, the fabric on your fuse most likely is polyspan.

Ron
I've used the pin hinges before, but didn't like the epoxy mess, dry time, or having to lube the pins and hope they don't glue solid. For how I fly (not in a PA contest) the CA hinges are great. I like the memory some, it springs back to neutral if the lines go slack and when I go back to level flight. And I've had all the hinges break on crash. The pin hinges split the stab and elev., too. Don't ask me how I know. I never did like the looks of sown or cloth hinges.

Talk to you guy Sunday. Maybe I'll have some pictures of the two planes I finished today and the one I should finish Sunday.

This thing has had slotted hinges somewhere in its previous life. The edges of the stab are pretty rough with broken remains of old hinges slotted in, so I think that idea is out. Either fabric or thread is the best way to fix it. I'm continuing with the tedious chores now, getting it ready for paint. In other words getting the old paint off where it's all cracked and ugly. That Polyspan on the stab and the front doublers is nice stuff. Whatever it's pasted on with is impervious to my paint stripping acetone and looks like a good strengthening fabric. The paint around the fuel tank and nose is deteriorated so I'll have to strip that too. If I don't drop dead from fumes I should have the colors on it this week.

Looking good Rusty!!!!

Can't wait to see the finished product.

Ron

Couldn't help myself, I just rubbed and rubbed until I fell into some sort of Zen trance. When I awoke, there was NO paint on the whole plane! A fresh blank canvas with no yellow anywhere to be seen.

It looks like bare wood, but it's sealed with dope of some sort everywhere except the cheek on the inboard side of the engine. I'll primer that to fill in the balsa grain. And I suppose I should do the same for the stab so the Polyspan texture isn't evident. But does anyone think I should primer the rest of the sealed fuse? I'm thinking not, just paint straight onto it.

Also I weighed it. With no paint and no engine, fuel tank, landing gear, elevator and rudder, it weighs 16 ounces. The plans call for 28-30oz, so hopefully I can finish up lighter than that.

Now I need to come up with a color scheme.

Good! I wasn't diggin the yellow!

Gamecocks!!!!!!!!! Nuff said. I have no idea who they are, I just know you like the colors.

Mr. Peepers thinks it's a good choice.

cribbs74 wrote:
I wanted to try these things out and see how they work. They are very fluid and don't have memory. Time will tell.......

I'm not a fan of the flat nylon hinges, not because of the design --- they are very free and can be used on thinner surfaces. But, I've not found an adhesive that sticks well to them. When I have used them, I clean them very well with acetone and after gluing in, I drill and pin them with a round toothpick. The holes do help with a mechanical bond.

I do like the hinge points --- with control surfaces with a rounded leading edge, they can be countersunk into the surface so the pivot point allows the surface to move and maintain a minimal air gap with the wing or stab. They also have ridges that work well with the expanding PU glues.

On .15 sized planes and down, I use CA hinges (cut down for 1/2A). I try to use a blade that cuts a minimal slot so the hinges fit tightly in the wood. I first drill a hole thru the surfaces approximately centered where the hinge will be, insert the hinge, then apply thin CA in the hole, top and bottom. This allows the CA to wick in all directions and avoids sticking the surfaces together or stiffening the joint.

I have flown planes until the CA hinges fatigued in two. I just cut the surface off, sanded the old hinges flush then re-slotted the surface in other locations.

I have a bunch little bottles of Testors enamel model paint. If I hand brush that stuff on and sand it with 800 or 1000 grit paper, will it smooth out as well as spray paint? And is it as fuel proof as Rustoleum(they're both enamel)? I have fuel proof Lustrecote clear gloss for fuel proofing, but that stuff is so heavy I don't know if I want to cover the whole fuse and tail with it.

It actually is red, Monokote Missile Red but my cell phone makes it look orange. The Rudder will be black, the front end will be black and angling off to red down to the tail.
I don't think my stitches are exactly like the ones Ken taught me to make, but they should be strong. Three hinges made of five holes with two passes through every hole on each side of the elevator. Red Dacron.

It's looking good, Rusty. Your hinges are nice and tight with no air gap --- they should work a treat.

andrew