west wings fournier
 

Afternoon all I have ordered a west wings fournier kit, its seems a thousand years since i have built a Balsa wood kit I think the last one was a keil craft kit, I was wondering what is the best glue to use and what to cover the wings in Ive read it needs a 400 brushed motor would that be good or should I go for brushless equivalent my knowledge of electric motors is all most zero ( in fact my knowledge of anything is about zero:D) HAPPY NEW YEAR all.

I've not built a Fournier but i've done other West Wings kits. Glue is a very personal thing, most balsa builders have their favourites. Personally I like Aliphatic wood glue (e.g. Titebond yellow). The plus points are:

• It sets reasonably quickly but not so quick that you don't have time to set everything up.
• It doesn't glue your skin to the balsa.
• It doesn't small awful and make your eyes water like CA does.
• It's sands easily.
• It sets nice and hard.
• It's quite cheap and you can store it for a good while.

The other common wood glue is PVA (usually white in colour) it's like Aliphatic in most ways but dries slightly rubbery so is harder to sand and the rubberiness may lead to structures warping.

CA (Cyanoacrylate) is very useful but needs treating with caution with traditional balsa builds. it doesn't give any time for adjusting the fit up and drying time can be unpredictable ranging from almost infinitely long (when you need a quick grab) to instant (when you get some on your finger and touch balsa). The fumes are awful.

Epoxy has it's place for high stress areas but should be used with caution due to the weight.

Plus one on the titebond glue I have gotten away from CA for builds. CA can be messy no matter how hard you try not to be, and like mentioned above it does not sand, and sets hard and brittle. Plus the smell and eye irritation from it is enough to make me only use it once in a while.

You can get some titebond on the fingers and the balsa doesn't get stuck to your fingers like CA will. Many parts have been stuck to my finger tips in the past.:Q

Thanks for info Ive looked on internet and have come up with all sorts of Aliphatic glue one I was looking at was Aliphatic Rapid or should I use titebond original ??? confused

Titebond original is what I use. Aliphatic rapid may well be worth a try, assuming it has all the same properties but dries a little quicker.

I have switched to tightbond 3 but i think 1 or 2 is great too. joe

Now that looks like a real aircraft Joe, I'm still looking on the internet for the glue if I had a brain it would ache I never realised how many versions of Aliphatic glue there was, right back to the internet

I found a data sheet on the different Titebond glues: http://www.titebond.com.au/products/product_specs.htm

I prefer the Aliphatic resin type rather than the PVA type (Titebond II is PVA). Titebond III appears to be some sort of special formula, I've no experience of it so cant comment.

The only downside of the aliphatic glues is they are not waterproof.

Morning all, Ive ended up with titebond original, Has anybody got any thoughts on the propulsion eg motor, speed controler, brushless /brushed size ect ect it may seem a daft question but all the models I have flown come with every thing included, and what sort of covering for the wings, thanks for any replies . Ray

When brushless motors cost alot of money i used brushed motors but now that they can be found alot cheaper i not only buy brushless for my new planes but i have also switched out my brushed motors in all my planes to brushless and new esc's .I have tried most heat and shrink coverings on the market but i still find Top Flight monicote to work the best for me. As far as motor size and esc for your plane ,iam weak in that department but others will reply iam sure . :D joe

Thanks for info Joe, I shall go on internet and look for monicote and hopefully some one will come up with propulsion answers. Ray

There are a wide choice of power options that should work well.. If it were me i'd be looking at something along these lines:

Motor: Approx 60g brushless outrunner with kv of 1000-1300
Battery: 3 cell 1300mAh LiPo
ESC: 25A
Prop: 8x4 to 9x5 (depending on motor kv)

That should give you about 150W or more which is probably about twice what the original brushed set up was good for but no point going any lighter because you wouldnt be able to balance it. You can always throttle back:D

This will answer all your questions
 

???? The best advice for building your fornier would be to make it and tape it all together with gaffa tape wrapped with sellotape because the last time i saw you attempt to fly you wrote off two aircraft in two minutes, you wont be able to fly it anyway so best to either leave it in the box or send it back. Finally try a new hobby something like fish keeping, I hear discus are quite nice. Hope this of use good luck your gonna need it.:D