Hinge Question

[Forge]

Guys,

I am building a heavier 5 to 6 pound plane... You may have seen my first Hawker Tempest post.

Will CA type hinges be sufficient for this size plane and load? I've only used CA, covering and tape style hinges on smaller builds.

Is there another preferred method that anyone uses, or are CA hinges good enough? The balsa at the hinge area on the tail surfaces is 1/4" width... Not really that thick.

Any thoughts, comments or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!!

Forge

[rcers]

I have no issues with CA hinges on models of that size and a bit larger in fact.

[Larry3215]

My GP Ultimate used CA hinges and it weighed closer to 15+ pounds.

Use quality hiinges though. There are cheep ones out there that tear easily.

[Forge]

Thanks Rcers and Larry,

I was hoping that was the right solution. Seems like the easiest way to go. I just wanted to confirm from some more experienced builders/flyers.

Thanks!

Forge

[road king 97]

If you are worried about not enough balsa to grab to ,glue a scrap of balsa on the inside where the hinge goes on stab and elev then glue them in ,makes for more gluing surface. joe

[kenchiroalpha]

Hi forge
Ive used them as well on large scale warbirds
Properly installed they are very strong

click here to watch the video

Take care dear friend
Yours Hank

[road king 97]

If you dont think you have enough balsa to grap to, glue a extra piece of balsa on the inside where the hinges go so you can get more gluing surface . I would do it on the stab and the elev. hope this helps . joe

[stuart]

joe's got it right forge,and if you haven't invested a few bucks[$30] on the electric hing cutter ,you should,it's one of the greatest tools,my sig hog was hinged up in less then an hour and the blade centers so easily.

[rcers]

Actually I never use a slot hinge cutter for CA hinges. I feel it leaves too wide a gap for the CA hinge to bond properly. CA hinges are typically pretty thin.

I just slice with a #11 blade and drill a 1/16' hole in the center of the hinge area. This allows the glue to soak deep into the hinge pocket.

Works very well for me and allows that stiff friction fit CA hinges like.

Just my $0.02

Mike

[Forge]

Guys,

CA hinges it is. I truly appreciate all the great input.

This is a great site, with outstanding members who provide a wealth of information to me and the rest of us builders out there.

Thanks!!!

Forge

[road king 97]

Sorry for my double post,my bad. i buy ca hinges with a slot already cut in the middle of it so ca can wick through but if you cant find them a hole like he says is good too. If you find the center of the hinge and draw a line with a crayon on both sides it wont let ca in and you can tell when you reach center of the hinge in the wood. with no ca where the crayon is makes for a smoooooth hinge action instead of fighting the ca. back and forth to get it to move. I cut all of my hinge slots by hand as i dont own a machine and it only takes a few mintues . Dam am i long winded or what. good luck forge let us know how it went. joe

[Forge]

Joe,

Very interesting suggestion on the crayon CA hinge trick.

Hey, on a side note, I have been following along on your Solent Sea Plane build and it is looking awesome! Keep up the great work.

Thanks!

Forge

[jungmann1]

Hi Forge, CA hinges are fine for your application. The only reason to go with something else is to improve scale appearance. Lots of guys building scale warbirds will go the extra mile to form a more scale looking hinge line where the moving surface has a radius on the leading edge that nests into a concave trailing edge on the wing. In that case you have to use a hinge that allows the hinge line to be displaced back into the control surface at the focal point of the LE radius. Most people use a Robart type hinge point for this purpose. If this is not a concern for you, you should not worry about the CA hinges at all. They are plenty strong. I have used them on 1/4 scale 3D planes without a problem. Sometimes you just have to increase the number of hinges if you think it looks a little wimpy. Good luck with your Tempest! John.

[road king 97]

Thanks for stoping in on my solent build forge ,it is going ok i hope to be putting some covering on it soon. I used ca hinges on every thing except the ail on my solent but they are real wide ca hinges . I used robart hinges on the ail ,you can see the extra balsa blocks for them . The extra blocks can be used for ca hinges also . joe