Let's play "Nose or Fuse"

Ok, I'll guess: fuselage, by trailing edge of wing?

Ha! That would be something I could pull off, but no.

Fuse it is!!!!

Mark Boesen wrote:Ok, I'll guess: fuselage, by trailing edge of wing?

Congrats Mark!

Everything breaks there...

No fun when the fun ends broken.

Phil

I've seen this a bit and there are ways to prevent this. This was happening with the planes using the nylon mounts as well. I do this when building for strength. This is something I do with larger models as well. The laser cut kits generally have real punky balsa and I typically don't build from many kits due to me being in control of wood selection. One thing about older die (smashed) cut kits was that harder balsa was needed for the dies to work properly. The lighter softer wood was discarded due to it just crushing under the dies. The advantage however was stronger balsa the disadvantage was the wood was quite heavy.

Prior to assembly, dicing the fuse with a straight edge right above the high point of the wing and the underside can be done. Install 1/8"x1/4" bass or spruce even better. Glue it up with yellow glue preferably I use weights and clamps and I only place enough glue on the piece as soaking it liberally will only enhance warping. After a few minutes I weigh the fuse flat. I taper my fuselages with a razor plane and the majority of this heavier stock is removed but the strength is still retained. Doping the fuse and covering with silkspan will even yield greater strength. With the spruce running from nose to tail it keeps the fuse straight and prevents these kind of breaks. In the event you have a mount like the nylon mount that's used on Brodak models, it prevents crushing as well. The bottom of the fuse can also be capped with the same material as shown in the lower pic which can be thinned and tapered once dry also resulting in strength. This takes a bit of work but can pay off in the long run. Ken

Ron, you hanging on the prop or what?

[quote="cribbs74"]Ha! That would be something I could pull off, but no.

Fuse it is!!!!


yep, that’s usually where it breaks on a figure '9'.
The good news is the repair will make it stronger then before.

pkrankow wrote:Everything breaks there...

No fun when the fun ends broken.

Phil

You said it Phil, I don't cuss, but I wanted to today. This is my best flying plane.

the good new is its a easy fix

you're right, i think they're one of the better ones for 1/2a

Your plane grew a beard really fast. Just kidding though. Man, I'm really sorry to see the Clown like that. I know it frustrates the crap out of you. I like Ken's building tip. I wonder if that spruce strip is on both sides or just one side, one I'm guessing.

I hope you got some good flights in before wrecking. You wanna tell us about how it happened?

RknRusty wrote:Your plane grew a beard really fast. Just kidding though. Man, I'm really sorry to see the Clown like that. I know it frustrates the crap out of you. I like Ken's building tip. I wonder if that spruce strip is on both sides or just one side, one I'm guessing.

I hope you got some good flights in before wrecking. You wanna tell us about how it happened?

I think he cut the block of wood apart and inlayed the strips upon reassembly, then cut the fuse out.

That might make for an easier time cutting the wing slot with the tools I have on hand right now.

Phil

Ken Cook wrote: I've seen this a bit and there are ways to prevent this. This was happening with the planes using the nylon mounts as well. I do this when building for strength. This is something I do with larger models as well. The laser cut kits generally have real punky balsa and I typically don't build from many kits due to me being in control of wood selection. One thing about older die (smashed) cut kits was that harder balsa was needed for the dies to work properly. The lighter softer wood was discarded due to it just crushing under the dies. The advantage however was stronger balsa the disadvantage was the wood was quite heavy.

Prior to assembly, dicing the fuse with a straight edge right above the high point of the wing and the underside can be done. Install 1/8"x1/4" bass or spruce even better. Glue it up with yellow glue preferably I use weights and clamps and I only place enough glue on the piece as soaking it liberally will only enhance warping. After a few minutes I weigh the fuse flat. I taper my fuselages with a razor plane and the majority of this heavier stock is removed but the strength is still retained. Doping the fuse and covering with silkspan will even yield greater strength. With the spruce running from nose to tail it keeps the fuse straight and prevents these kind of breaks. In the event you have a mount like the nylon mount that's used on Brodak models, it prevents crushing as well. The bottom of the fuse can also be capped with the same material as shown in the lower pic which can be thinned and tapered once dry also resulting in strength. This takes a bit of work but can pay off in the long run. Ken

Ken,

I am going to have to start cutting and pasting all these notes somewhere. good stuff, thanks Ken.

I could also learn how to fly properly. Seems to more I push the envelope the more this kind of thing happens.

Ron

RknRusty wrote:Your plane grew a beard really fast. Just kidding though. Man, I'm really sorry to see the Clown like that. I know it frustrates the crap out of you. I like Ken's building tip. I wonder if that spruce strip is on both sides or just one side, one I'm guessing.

I hope you got some good flights in before wrecking. You wanna tell us about how it happened?

Lol, yeah I left that on just for the pic. That was a lot of dirt on that medallion. I did get some good flights in, problem is I was getting comfy and pushed myself harder.

Ron

Ron