Ailerons

Got the ailerons finished… mostly. In order to properly balance them, they should be painted first, or wrapped in my case. (side note: Fascinating video showing why ailerons must have a counterweight) So I get to try out the vinyl wrap!

My design calls for grey on the bottom and green on the top. Here’s one wrapped and the other unwrapped.

Before and After

The right wing has a stripe that crosses the aileron. The knifeless cutting tape works great! Nice flush cuts between material. One issue I have is the the top/bottom transition occurs right at the tail end of the aileron which is a pretty sharp curve. The vinyl doesn’t like ending on a such a corner so I had to order some sealing tape. I have liquid sealant for vinyl but reports say that it leaves a nail polish-like finish that doesn’t look so nice. We’ll see how the tape works first.

Right Aileron

Frustatingly, the counter weight isn’t heavy enough… even with the naked ailerons. Grrrrr… I cut the lead ingot exactly the size the plans called for! Now I’ll have to get the wings finished and figure out how I can add more weight to the aileron counterweights.

Wing Skins

The wing skins are time consuming. Lots and lots of holes. The skins need to be filed to fit properly. Much work remains.

Wingos Skins