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There are as many techniques to building a plane as there are planes. Over the years ingenious ways have been found to
save time and money on our building projects. One thing is for certain. There is always more than one way to skin a cat! no
matter how long you have been in this hobby, there is always something new to learn or pass on. So learn form others suggestions
and submit your ideas as well
Extra Security for Servo to Receiver Connections. Would you like a little extra security to keep servo leads from popping out of the receiver, but hate the mess
of glue residue left from tape? Use a hot melt glue gun to lay a bead where your servo connectors come in contact with the
receiver. It holds great, but is easy to peel off latter. Submitted by Jeremy Bonnough
Dents in Balsa? If you ding your balsa while building, place
a few drops of water on the dent and steam out with a covering iron. If the piece is covered (Hanger Rash) use a small diabetic
needle to inject a few drops of water under the covering and they use your heating iron. The dent will come right out. Submitted by Maximillion
Blind Nuts Falling Out?: Blind Nuts have a tendency
to fall off at the worst time, usually when you can no longer reach the inside of the fuel compartment. Whether building from
a kit or assembling an ARF, screwing the bolts for the blind nuts in will keep them from falling out while handling the plane.
Submitted by Maximillion
Re-Seating Blind Nuts: If a blind nut does fall out and you can’t
reach in to set it in place, try this trick. Using thin coat hanger wire, feed it through the hole and out the radio compartment.
Slip the blind nut on the wire followed by a wheel collar. This will allow you to pull the blind nut back in to position.
You may need to use a bolt and washer to get it to seat all the way. Submitted by Maximillion
Pin Inserter: Ever get sore fingertips while inserting
pins in to your building board. Using a dremal cut off wheel, notch the back of your X-acto knife for T-pins and drill a hole
in the center for regular push pins. This will save your finger tips. Submitted by Maximillion
Vertical Fin: Looking for an easy way to hold your vertical fin straight while the glue sets? Wrap
a long thin rubber band around the horizontal and vertical stabilizer. Set your vertical stabilizer in position and let the
glue set. Submitted by Maximillion
Tailors Tape. The measuring tape that tailors use it great
for setting up straight wings and tail surfaces. They are light and can easily have a pin stuck through the tip. Stick a pin
through the tape and in the very middle of the front fuselage right behind the firewall. Then measure to the tips of your
wings or tail-feathers, when they measure the same on both sides, there straight. There are even tailor tapes that will retract
in to a case just like the large measuring tapes used commonly in homes. Submitted by Maximillion
Fuel Tank Installation: After removing
your fuel tank for maintenance, it can be a challenge to feed your fuel lines through the fire wall. Feed two flexible nyrods
or even thicker coat hanger wires through the front of the fuselage and out the radio compartment. Slip fuel lines over nyrods
and pull fuel line through firewall as you insert the tank. Submitted by Maximillion
Handling Fiberglass Cloth: Tame that fiberglass
cloth. Hate cutting fiberglass cloth because the ends unravel? Try this next time. Place wax paper down and lay the cloth
on top of it. Lightly spray with 3m77 and then lay another piece of wax paper on top. You can now use and x-acto knife to
cut out strips or what ever shape you want. Remove fiberglass and lay sticky side down where needed. Smooth the wrinkles out
and apply CA or epoxy. Submitted by Maximillion
Removing foam for wheelwells.
Bend music wire in to the shape of a rectangle of the appropriate size and mount it in to a soldering gun. This makes much
cleaner cuts then when digging out with a knife. When making the wire loop, be sure to make it slightly smaller then the size
needed. This will compensate for the foam that will shrink away as you cut through. Submitted by
Maximillion
Depth gage for soldering gun foam
cutters. Keep burning to deep in to your foam wing when cutting wheelwells with your foam cutter? Before mounting the wire
loop in to the heat gun, put a wheel collar on each side. You now have an adjustable depth gage that can ride on top of wing
skin. Submitted by Maximillion
Hate Oily Rubber Bands? If you hate the
way rubber bands get oily and messy, then you might want to try this. place them in a bag of baby powder or kitty litter.
It will suck up the oil and keep your rubber bands from deteriorating. Submitted
by Maximillion
Antenna Tube: Ever get frustrated trying
to feed your receiver wire down an antenna tube? Spray some WD-40 in to a rage and wipe your antenna first. This should allow
it to slide in freely. If not try spraying a little WD-40 down the antenna tube also. Submitted by Maximillion
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