Assembly: Aeroworks QB 150cc Yak 55M
- Thread starter Joe Hunt
- Start date
Joe Hunt
150cc
Hi dhal! Yes, I stripped the covering off the wing, then recovered it in white, then applied blue stripes to the bottom. I still have to apply the factory red piece on the top. Monkey messed that one up to... those things are really torched on there!
hobbiest:
Joe, what happens if I try to peel up the black checkers on the bottom of the wings?
Joe:
Ho man! Do not try to peel up the checkers!
hobbiest:
But, what if I try?
Joe:
Do not try to peel up any of the covering on an AW 150cc YAK55M! Ho man!
hobbiest:
But, what if I do?
Joe:
Don't. haha
I'm working on the other wing right now. More pictures soon.
Joe Hunt
150cc
Hinging tips and tricks for this plane:
I didn't mention one point... if you glue it all at once you will not be able to check to see if each hinge swings freely stop to stop. But, if you glue the surfaces only, and let them setup... then you can check each hinge to make sure it will swing freely stop to stop.
I didn't mention one point... if you glue it all at once you will not be able to check to see if each hinge swings freely stop to stop. But, if you glue the surfaces only, and let them setup... then you can check each hinge to make sure it will swing freely stop to stop.
Joe Hunt
150cc
Okay, some good and bad about the hinging. One thing I want to make clear is it doesn't take any time. 14 years ago on even the nicest ARFs you had to cut your own hinge slots. And, then glue them. Here you only have to glue them in and that does not take any time. If you glue the surfaces first, like I do, and then let them setup before gluing them into the plane, it is also easy work. So... fast and easy. Also, I'm getting 65 degrees of travel up and down on the ailerons. So. that is nice. If I were to cut the slots deeper I could get even more, but I probably won't use more than 50, or so.
Couple of things I've discovered though, there's a small refinement that might make it possible to have the hinging come out absolutely perfect. Mine is not 100% perfect. I have 65 degrees of travel but I have a slight binding past about 30 degrees. I believe two things are causing this and the main problem I believe can be avoided quite easily during the gluing of the hinges. So, I think I have a slight binding that will go away with a little hinge stretch (not ideal). And, I think I can keep you having much, if any, binding. I'm going to try it out on the elevators, but that will still not be an apples to apples comparison. If any of you want to drop by Costa Mesa with your wings I will glue in your hinges for a scientific comparison. haha
So, first thing that I wonder about would really need to be a small factory refinement (and may or may not be a big deal because of how short each pin is). But in this drawing you can see that the hinge pins are all at a different distance from the wing. They are parallel to each other but on different planes. The hinge pins are not in a line with each other. A factory refinement could have the jig for the hinge hole drilling setup at a slight angle so as to have all the hinge pins in a straight line:
Currently:
Possibly better:
Couple of things I've discovered though, there's a small refinement that might make it possible to have the hinging come out absolutely perfect. Mine is not 100% perfect. I have 65 degrees of travel but I have a slight binding past about 30 degrees. I believe two things are causing this and the main problem I believe can be avoided quite easily during the gluing of the hinges. So, I think I have a slight binding that will go away with a little hinge stretch (not ideal). And, I think I can keep you having much, if any, binding. I'm going to try it out on the elevators, but that will still not be an apples to apples comparison. If any of you want to drop by Costa Mesa with your wings I will glue in your hinges for a scientific comparison. haha
So, first thing that I wonder about would really need to be a small factory refinement (and may or may not be a big deal because of how short each pin is). But in this drawing you can see that the hinge pins are all at a different distance from the wing. They are parallel to each other but on different planes. The hinge pins are not in a line with each other. A factory refinement could have the jig for the hinge hole drilling setup at a slight angle so as to have all the hinge pins in a straight line:
Currently:
Possibly better:
Joe Hunt
150cc
Okay, but here's what I speculate is the crux. And, if I'm right I'm kinda mad at myself because this is what worried me when I first went to glue in the hinges. I looked at the job, then looked at the instruction manual, then said to myself, "really?". I then called Rocco for, and I quote, "some criteria" haha, on how to put these things together for a perfect result. You know, what are the determining factors? Anyway, what I saw was the slots were cut out into balsa, and that balsa is a soft wood and these were big slots. In my mind, no way could I just push all the hinges down into that slotted cavity and have all the hinge pins line up. Sure if they jig drilled into a more solid surface I could do that with a precision result... but not a big slot into soft balsa. It was Friday night at 8pm and for some reason Rocco didn't answer the phone. haha So, I just decided to do it like the manual showed. "It'll be fine" I said. haha Well, imo, do not do it like the manual. First off, unless you're really good, fast, and organized, you will not have enough time to get all 12 of those hinges in. Second, I think I have a better way.
I already talked about gluing the hinges in the ailerons first, letting them setup, then gluing them into the wings. That is fast and easy. All good, except I still had binding past 30 degrees of travel. Why? Maybe partly due to the hinge pins not being in a line, but I speculate mostly because of the slots in that balsa that I was concerned about from the start. I had an idea. And, I think if I had another set of wings it would be even more obvious. But, I grabbed an elevator half. I put the hinges in, and just as I suspected all along, they do not finish in a line. You see I tried to use a straight edge to get the pins in a line on the first aileron hinge gluing I did. But, because of the pocket you can't do that. The pocket is in a U or V shape and doesn't allow you to see the side of the hinge pins to line them all up. But.... but.... if you don't do it the way it shows in the manual (of gluing it all together at once)... and you glue the aileron first... then you can use a straight edge to line up the ends of the hinges. That will line up the hinge pins!!
If you hinge per the manual your hinge pins will not be lined up. Again, that was my initial fear and I'm mad at myself for not working it out before I started gluing. I never used to look at manuals, I'm getting old. haha
Here is a picture of the hinges pushed into the elevator... when the straight edge hits two of the hinges the others are all short of hitting the straight edge. Meaning the hinge pins do not line up. You know that ain't good!
I already talked about gluing the hinges in the ailerons first, letting them setup, then gluing them into the wings. That is fast and easy. All good, except I still had binding past 30 degrees of travel. Why? Maybe partly due to the hinge pins not being in a line, but I speculate mostly because of the slots in that balsa that I was concerned about from the start. I had an idea. And, I think if I had another set of wings it would be even more obvious. But, I grabbed an elevator half. I put the hinges in, and just as I suspected all along, they do not finish in a line. You see I tried to use a straight edge to get the pins in a line on the first aileron hinge gluing I did. But, because of the pocket you can't do that. The pocket is in a U or V shape and doesn't allow you to see the side of the hinge pins to line them all up. But.... but.... if you don't do it the way it shows in the manual (of gluing it all together at once)... and you glue the aileron first... then you can use a straight edge to line up the ends of the hinges. That will line up the hinge pins!!
Here is a picture of the hinges pushed into the elevator... when the straight edge hits two of the hinges the others are all short of hitting the straight edge. Meaning the hinge pins do not line up. You know that ain't good!
Joe Hunt
150cc
I'm going to try my theory out on the elevators (these elevators, with the hinges installed dry, still had binding, which would make sense if the pins are not lined up, we need to line them up, I think), and report back. I speculate that the following method will be good for getting a decent result with these hinges.
Glue the control surfaces first and let them setup before installing them in the plane
1) Lube the hinge with a thick coating of lube
2) Glue the hinge in to the control surface
3) Twist the hinges to align them until they move freely full travel in the slots
4) Use a straight edge to line up all the ends of the hinges (if you shaped some upholstery foam to keep the hinges all straight out, but on plane with each other, while doing this... all the better)
5) Let that setup
6) Put glue in the wing holes
7) Take a paper towel and denatured alcohol and wipe off any glue around the holes
8) Put glue on the hinges and push the hinges into the wing
9) Put in the card stock shown in the manual, and even then have the card stock in there pretty loose
That might be about as good as can be done with these. I'll try it on the elevators and report back. It's more critical on the wings, though, as there are 12 hinges across a long aileron. Plenty of opportunity for hinge pins that don't line up. But, I think this method will provide a decent result.
Glue the control surfaces first and let them setup before installing them in the plane
1) Lube the hinge with a thick coating of lube
2) Glue the hinge in to the control surface
3) Twist the hinges to align them until they move freely full travel in the slots
4) Use a straight edge to line up all the ends of the hinges (if you shaped some upholstery foam to keep the hinges all straight out, but on plane with each other, while doing this... all the better)
5) Let that setup
6) Put glue in the wing holes
7) Take a paper towel and denatured alcohol and wipe off any glue around the holes
8) Put glue on the hinges and push the hinges into the wing
9) Put in the card stock shown in the manual, and even then have the card stock in there pretty loose
That might be about as good as can be done with these. I'll try it on the elevators and report back. It's more critical on the wings, though, as there are 12 hinges across a long aileron. Plenty of opportunity for hinge pins that don't line up. But, I think this method will provide a decent result.
Joe Hunt
150cc
Okay, 100% success with the elevators with this method (slot end to slot end with no binding, over 60 degrees of travel):
Glue the control surfaces first and let them setup before installing them in the plane
1) Lube the hinge with a thick coating of lube
2) Glue the hinge in to the control surface
3) Twist the hinges to align them until they move freely full travel in the slots
4) Use a straight edge to line up all the ends of the hinges (if you shaped some upholstery foam to keep the hinges all straight out, but on plane with each other, while doing this... all the better)
5) Square up all the hinges to the leading edge of the control surface
6) Let that setup
7) After the glue has setup on the elevators, clip an 1/8" off the end of the two inboard hinges
8) Put glue in the wing (or stabilizer) holes
9) Take a paper towel and denatured alcohol and wipe off any glue around the holes
10) Put glue on the hinges and push the hinges into the wing
11) Put the card stock in loosely or use two pieces of card stock
I know I have a lot of posts on the hinging of this plane at this point, but I think anyone who gets the plane is really going to appreciate the above 11 steps. Here's a video of the elevator after the glue set up:
Glue the control surfaces first and let them setup before installing them in the plane
1) Lube the hinge with a thick coating of lube
2) Glue the hinge in to the control surface
3) Twist the hinges to align them until they move freely full travel in the slots
4) Use a straight edge to line up all the ends of the hinges (if you shaped some upholstery foam to keep the hinges all straight out, but on plane with each other, while doing this... all the better)
5) Square up all the hinges to the leading edge of the control surface
6) Let that setup
7) After the glue has setup on the elevators, clip an 1/8" off the end of the two inboard hinges
8) Put glue in the wing (or stabilizer) holes
9) Take a paper towel and denatured alcohol and wipe off any glue around the holes
10) Put glue on the hinges and push the hinges into the wing
11) Put the card stock in loosely or use two pieces of card stock
I know I have a lot of posts on the hinging of this plane at this point, but I think anyone who gets the plane is really going to appreciate the above 11 steps. Here's a video of the elevator after the glue set up: