control handles and paint jobs

I am wondering if anyone has plans of some sort for a good (?) adjustable handle? Is there something else than Monocoat that is Heat shrinkable (afraid of silk,am fairly new to this) and paint able? Am going to try dope for the first time this winter. So if someone has a covering 101 (can do monocoat and spray cans) class it would help greatly! thanks

Either Sig Koverall or Stits Light. Use either dope or Coverite Balsarite adhesive to attach, heat shrink and then dope. SuperCoverite is nice to work with, too, but heavier. It has adhesive on it already, hence the weight increase. But I think it fills faster than the others. All three are great products and easy to work with.

SIG has dope in spray cans, but SIG dope is thin and runny to begin with. The spray variety is worse.

Dumb question: You have done iron on finishes, you say. You now want to do a dope finish. Well, it doesn't have to be silk and it doesn't have to be iron-on. Why not try plain old silkspan?

So many people think that silkspan is just "tissue" and that it is going to pop or tear at the slightest nudge. Not so! If you use medium weight silkspan, and either SIG or Brodak dope (Brodak is MUCH better), you will end up with a covering and finish that can be as light or lighter than Monocote, nearly as puncture resistant, and which will add much greater stiffness to the structure. We have crash tested the stuff with minimal damage. We have done straight-ins where we have torn off wings and the only damage was to the one or two panels where the wing actually sheared.

You apply the stuff with dope and a brush. Although spraying is always better, you can brush your undercoats on--and even your top coats, and come out with a respectable finish. Brodak dope dries quite quickly and smells the least. If you want a dope finish, this is truly the way to go. The heavier fabric type stuff is just that--heavier. Give silkspan a try and see for yourself why the rest of us are using it.

Ok, as to your questions:

Handles-Tom Morris makes some simple but nice handles for about $8 apiece. You have to finish them before use. The adjustment is made using eyebolts (which are screwed in or out of a tapped hole) for the fine adjustment, and simply adding line clips for gross adjustments. Note that in competion, you are only allowed two clips/line (i.e. one on each end). He advertises in Stunt News.

Shrinkable Covering: Well other than monocote, there is Ultracoat by Goldberg which a lot of people like. I use MicaFilm which is real light, but you do need to apply the adhesive (Fabric BalsaRite) to stick it down. You can paint on Ultracoat with most paints (I think), but with Mica Film, you cannot use dope - it doesn't stick well. Rustoleum does work well on MicaFilm, but use it only for trim like stuff because it will increase the weight of the covering, sort of defeating the purpose of using MicaFilm in the first place.

Also I have found that painting film tends to make it difficult to reshrink the covering which tends to be necessary after leaving the plane in the car during a hot summer day.

You didn't mention silkspan (shrinks with water and dope but not a heat shrink), which is the old standard for covering. Its main downside is that being paper, you need to be careful about poking holes in the wing.

Some people swear by (and some swear at) using PolySpan, which is heatshrinkable, and paintable by dope. I have never used it.

Tom's handles are $19.95 for FIVE + $3.50 shipping. If you go together with your flying buddies he'll ship your order in one box for the actual cost of postage. We just bought 15 more of 'em, shipping was $6.50 total. I don't paint mine, I just sand 'em to fit with a Dremel drum sander & use 'em. I like the feel of the bare wood. Water doesn't hurt 'em & eventually they get a nice castor oil finish
Nils

I recently got back into Control line flying. My only experience has been with silkspan. I find it easy to use and it shrinks to fit very well. The only time I have punctured it was when I crashed and the wing structure broke.

To use:
1. Cut the silkspan to size. (leaving excess for trimming)
2. Using clear dope, paint around the outside of the wing (do not paint the ribs)
3. Wet the silkspan completely. I usually let it drip for a few seconds till the water quits running off.
4. Place the wet silkspan on the wet dope. Gently pull the edges to remove wrinkles.
5. Put another coat of dope around the edges of the wing. (Over the silkspan)
6. Let silkspan dry and it will tighten up.
7. Immediatly do the other side of the wing (top or bottom). This prevents warping.
8. Repeat for other side of wing.

When dry, dope the entire wing. The silkspan will loosen up a bit, but will dry tight.

Hope this helps,

jimm

Ultracote is much better than $cote. Wingtips come out better, for example. It costs more, but is worth it. Currell

I agree completely with Nils on the Tom Morris handle kits. Tom calls them kits, but they are almost "ARFs". They can be converted to cable leads, but I think it has to detract from the feel and response. SIG Koverall or medium or heavy silkspan would be your best bet for coverings, although silk is really pretty easy to do. It's just not as easy to do WELL. Some of the same things will happen with Koverall, Nylon, etc. Blobs of dope will run through and will always show unless you use pigmented dope. You solve that by using a foam brush or a sponge to wipe on just the right amount of dope, and doping while holding it overhead helps too. But otherwise, silk and silkspan is really easy. You might look for Harry Higley's books in the Tower catalog. Steve

This place is GREAT!I am always greatful to the advice that this place gives. Thanks for the help. SteveD