Help! A Storch wing gets butchered - WARNING (images not for the faint of heart)

[FLL-flyer]

Note to Mods - there's so many forums and subforums here, wasn't sure where to place this thread so if you feel it's appropriate elsewhere feel free to move.

So on my first go on the Storch yesterday, I started with the wings. All SEEMED well, until I folded the wing over the spar. It only folded about 90degrees...hmm, I must not have cut enough of a bevel angle on the fold. So I grab my blade, chop chop...Riiiiip....I punched in the paper that holds the leading edges together. As soon as tried folding it, well, it now folds alright - but the whole leading edge is torn. See pics attached, in case my rambling explanation was insuficient to illustrate my predicament.

So I called up my r/c "mentor" who told me all was fine and just wrap packing tape around the edges. Which at this point, short of building another wing from scratch, looks like what I'll have to do. Any other tips here to help get me back on track are welcome.

If I managed to screw this up so early in the game, what else have I got in store ahead of me? (just venting...I'l be fine and hopefully wind up with something resembling a storch in the upcoming week or so, lol)

 

[Keno]

Not all builder will agree with this but here is what I do to prevent this from happening; In the building of the wing I make the 50% cut then on the back side of the cut I apply paper medical tape. I use either dollar tree or Wal Mart's. I then make the "V" cut. Paper tape has a couple of issues, it is sometimes sticky on the top side (cheap tape) but this will dry. If you iron (low heat) it improves adherence and helps to smooth it. Next issue is that you can paint or seal (good thing) but on the down side is the paint brings up the fuzz and requires to be sanded after drying. Another issue not so good is paper tape will soak up paint and that adds to unwanted weight. you can also use this to beef-up or repair hinge cuts. I don't really care for the packing tape as paint does not stick to it very well, although for me It does have its place so I am not trying to down rate it. I use it frequently. For what its worth you may like it on not.

 

[Arcfyre]

I think your diagnosis was mostly correct. It looks like you didn't cut a sharp enough relief bevel, and it also looks like you may have accidentally cut into the paper on the leading edge while cutting said bevel.

You want to shoot for a 45° angle on each side of the cut. You should be able to fold the wing leading edge up to 90° before you start to compress the foam there. If you cut it too shallow, you may get a weak leading edge. Too steep and you haven't given enough relief to the foam. Most of the time you can compress it down slowly by hand and "make it fit" but you run the risk of creasing the foam in the process.

Bevels can be annoying to cut. I saw once a long time ago that the flite test guys used a 3D printed razor holder to make a perfect bevel cut. I'm getting better at them in the meantime, but man I'd love a tool like that lol.

I digress. Your mentor is correct. The best way to repair your wing would be to lay it flat on the table to relieve all of the stress on it. Tape it while its completely flat, and use the tape as replacement paper basically. Double check your bevel and try bending the wing up again. I've had to do this fix more than once and it usually works very well. Good luck.

 

[jack10525]

Not all builder will agree with this but here is what I do to prevent this from happening; In the building of the wing I make the 50% cut then on the back side of the cut I apply paper medical tape. I use either dollar tree or Wal Mart's. I then make the "V" cut. Paper tape has a couple of issues, it is sometimes sticky on the top side (cheap tape) but this will dry. If you iron (low heat) it improves adherence and helps to smooth it. Next issue is that you can paint or seal (good thing) but on the down side is the paint brings up the fuzz and requires to be sanded after drying. Another issue not so good is paper tape will soak up paint and that adds to unwanted weight. you can also use this to beef-up or repair hinge cuts. I don't really care for the packing tape as paint does not stick to it very well, although for me It does have its place so I am not trying to down rate it. I use it frequently. For what its worth you may like it on not.

I do something similar and always have with scratchbuilds because I always cut through the paper too. Once I make the cut to fold the wing in half I bend it so I can see the line on the outside or top of the wing. I then reinforce this area with some really cheap light weight tape I found on amazon. I comes in I think 6 rolls of differnt colors. I don't think it adds much weight but also give the plane a cool look.

Don't get discourage. Even if you don't build it perfect it will probably fly. And that is an amazing day!!!!

 

[FLL-flyer]

Just an update, I actually hot-glued the leading edges back together, and while it ain't pretty, it seems secure. (and I will add some tape over it to smooth it out). I'm almost done with wing - now I'm hitting other brick walls: Not enough servo line, no instructions on setting up the servo arms (connecting push-tubes to the servos, etc) I'm sure I'll find my answers in forum, youtube, etc. Moving forward!

 

[Keno]

Your doing fine. As you know the FT build video on the Storch will answer most of you concerns. To add to my previous post on cutting the "V", l cut it a bit shallow and finish it with a sanding block to ensure it is 45 degrees the same as on the hinging cuts (they don't have to be 45 degrees more like 30 in most cases). I then place a light strip of hot glue in these areas and wipe it clean. You do not have to add any additional hot glue to the leading edge cut as it will anneal in time anyway. The tape to the back side helps make a nice rounded leading edge. Caution don't fold the panel until you know the glue as toughly cooled though. looks good, let us know how it flies and enjoy. Just in case I be back and provide the link for you on this build, you probably have it anyway. https://store.flitetest.com/flite-t...electric-airplane-kit-1460mm-flt-1016/p673680

 

[donalson]

honestly one good idea for building is to build one glider from scratch... it's a little late now... I built a sparrow glider from scratch so I could get a feel for the build method... $1 in foam, a bit of tape and glue and bob's your uncle... plus you can give it away to some kid once you're done... and if you do it right you will have the plans for later to use again ;-)....

if nothing get a sheet of foam board, do some bevels, cut a score line and fold it over and do a double bevel etc etc... you can get LOTS of practice on that one sheet... also experiment with how the angle of the blade changes how it cuts, most of the time I lay the length of the board at the edge of the table so I can use the edge of the table as a guide... I put my body towards the end of the table so I drag the blade towards me (while using the table as a guide)... on shorter things I sometimes hold it and drag the blade towards me...

I also use a folding utility knife, the blade pops out with one small button and the shape of the knife itself lends itself to the nice dragging angle... and a 100 pack of blades is under $10... I use it 98% of the time for my cuts... the much more expensive and less comfortable x-acto 11 blade gets used far less for smaller, tighter spot cuts.

 

[Keno]

honestly one good idea for building is to build one glider from scratch... it's a little late now... I built a sparrow glider from scratch so I could get a feel for the build method... $1 in foam, a bit of tape and glue and bob's your uncle... plus you can give it away to some kid once you're done... and if you do it right you will have the plans for later to use again ;-)....

if nothing get a sheet of foam board, do some bevels, cut a score line and fold it over and do a double bevel etc etc... you can get LOTS of practice on that one sheet... also experiment with how the angle of the blade changes how it cuts, most of the time I lay the length of the board at the edge of the table so I can use the edge of the table as a guide... I put my body towards the end of the table so I drag the blade towards me (while using the table as a guide)... on shorter things I sometimes hold it and drag the blade towards me...

I also use a folding utility knife, the blade pops out with one small button and the shape of the knife itself lends itself to the nice dragging angle... and a 100 pack of blades is under $10... I use it 98% of the time for my cuts... the much more expensive and less comfortable x-acto 11 blade gets used far less for smaller, tighter spot cuts.

Good advice...

 

[foamtest]

In one of the really early tip videos they use a ruler to help make bevel cuts really easy because instead of making sure that both sides are even you only have to make sure that you don't cut through the paper. I can explain with pictures later. At school now.

 

[donalson]

In one of the really early tip videos they use a ruler to help make bevel cuts really easy because instead of making sure that both sides are even you only have to make sure that you don't cut through the paper. I can explain with pictures later. At school now.

ah yes I remember that and using it... worked well but you still have to be very careful to watch the bottom side of the blade so it doesn't cut through the paper... I don't recall if it was a suggestion to use the side of the table WITH the ruler or not... also part of the issue may have been that the numbers on my ruler would catch the blade sometimes... which i think is where I got to using the table edge... with the knife I use it's easy to guide for deeper or shallower cuts... this isn't to say I don't still cut though the paper sometimes... but I end up being able to get lots of deflection and enough room to use tape for the hinges.

 

[basslord1124]

Bevel cuts (especially on the leading edge of the wing) are one of the trickiest things to do. I had a similar thing happen with the wing on my FT Storch. My issue was something happened with my glue gun (it either jammed up or I ran out of glue) and some glue dried before I could glue the whole thing down. Of anything don't get discouraged and with these builds, as you now know, you can always go back and fix things/patch it up. And when it comes time to paint/decorate them, most may never notice the bandaids that were used to fix issues.

A couple things I'd suggest...
Hold the razor blade at a 45 degree angle or as close as you can to that to make your cut. At that angle, the part of the blade closest to your thumb/fingers will start cutting through the foam first. Sometimes you may have to go back and re-cut some areas as maybe it didn't quite get the correct angle. I know sometimes I do. Once you are finished with the cut, attempt a fold over without gluing and see how it responds. Slowly do it and if you feel any hard resistance, re-examine the cut and look for issues.

And something for the future in terms of making repairs... depending on the extent of the repair and what you are working with. You can use a heat gun/hair dryer to "unglue" a piece if you need to make adjustments. Just hold it in the area that need work, slowly work it til the piece comes undone. Clean up any excess glue if needed and then reglue when you are ready.

 

[kilroy07]

If you have one of those big fat Sharpie's (permanent marker) you can try something I like to do on the leading edges.
I run the bottom end across the bevel cut a couple of times to mash the foam a bit before I try to fold over.
It seems to help coax the foam to roll over rather than snap, as I've had DTFB do to me on more than one occasion.

But for your current issue, yes, tape it and it'll be just fine.