Bug HLG

The only real problem I had with broken tail parts is from fumbling a catch and droping the model on its tail. Otherwise regular landings don't cause much damage. The balsa does wear down after a while and you can see the wire skid in my pictures. Brushing on some polyacrylic or polyurethane seems to toughen up the balsa quite a bit. I've also added some glass cloth, but it adds too much weight. You could also use clear dope, but the water based materials are really nice to work with. --Colin-- --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, "bob_chiang2 <rhc3@c...>" <rhc3@c...> wrote: > Mike and Paul, > > You both asked about strengthening the balsa for a cruciform tail > (great looking model by the way). > > I was also skeptical about using 1/16", but figured I might as well > start light and replace and beef things up if needed. All I did was > to wipe water based acrylic polyurethane on the tail surfaces and run > the edges through a puddle of CA glue. I did add a wire skid to the > bottom of the vertical fin (though it came off at some point, and I > haven't replaced it). > > The only time I have broken the tail was on a missed catch, and the > model fell vertically down onto the tail. I am better off landing it > on the ground :) > > The only weak spot I retrofitted with reinforcing is the leading edge > of the horizontal stabilizer right next to the boom. I think when I > land, weeds would slide along the boom and catch on the stab. So I > inset a piece of hardwood. Laminating a piece of 1/16" square bass > onto the leading edge (just like a free flight HLG wing) would be an > elegant solution. > > If you want to reinforce the balsa with glass cloth, some folks use > water based poly instead of epoxy.