My Elevator Ripped off in flight.

I put a McCoy 35 engine on my Sterling Ringmaster and took it flying today. I forgot to keep my fuel in the house last night so it would be warm when I went flying today. The McCoy would not start on a used OS A3 plug I took out of my OS 25 engine. The used plug has about 10 runs on it. The only glow plug the McCoy 35 would run on was the Thunderbolt R/C Long Plug with an idle bar. My fuel is 38 degrees F.

I flew the Ringmaster several times with the McCoy 35 engine and a 10x6 prop. It flies much better than any engine I have tried so far. The Fox 35 stunt sputters a little in a turn, it sounds like the Fox 35 is going to die but it never has. The McCoy 35 runs smooth all the time in turns, inside or outside loops, upside down. On the 5th flight I noticed the elevator looked strange in flight. I flew straight and level then after it landed I noticed all the cloth hinges had come loose. This airplane is 2 years old.

I got out my Flite Streak with a Fox 36X and a 10x6 prop. I could not get the engine started. I swapped out the used OS A3 glow plug for the used Thunderbolt plug and it started right. During the 2nd flight the elevator flew off in flight. The airplane continued to fly. I had minumum control. Full up or full down elevator would make the elevation change about 1 foot in a complete circle. When the engine stopped the airplane came down like a brick and flattened the landing gear down about 3 inches. The cloth hinges came loose and the elevator ripped off all except for a tiny piece of balsa 1" wide at the control horn. The airplane is 2 years old.

No more cloth hinges. Both airplanes will have plastic hinges next flight.

Gary, I am not a fan of cloth hinges, either. And, yes, they will rot, go bad, rip off, especially if fuel gets in them (and how do you keep it out? But plugs can go bad, too. Are you sure it was the brand or just the age of the plug?

There is a common trick of vacuum cleaner salesmen, in that they will have you vacuum your rug with your (used) vacuum and then go over it with theirs and show you all the dirt that theirs got that yours didn't. Of course, if they vacuumed first and then you vacummed (even with your used vacuum) you would get more dirt that theirs didn't.

What does this have to do with plugs? Well, vacuum cleaners may or may not deteriorate with age, but plugs do. Used plugs will deteriorate. Slowly, maybe, but they will deteriorate. If you are going to compare plugs, make sure you compare a new one to a new one.

Yes, Thuderbolt plugs are a good brand of plug. But, after a while, it is possible that you could come back and try a new one of another brand and the new plug will be better. The best thing to do is try a new Thunderbolt with a new (whatever) to see if it was really the type of plug or just the fact that both engines needed a new plug.

Did this happen at the same flying site where your combat model had the covering ripped off? It could be there are evil forces at work at that flying site. Is it officially ok to fly there, or do you just sneak in and fly? Do others fly there, and do they have similar incidents? Has anybody ever been fatally injured by a model airplane at that site? It could be you need to say the Mojo words before flying. Steve

Gary,
You don't say how old those planes are. If they are relatively new, then you are definitely doing something wrong when you glue them on (or your planes are flying at hypersonic speeds! )

What works for me is good old Ambroid glue. First apply a coating of glue to the wood and to the part of the hinge which is going to mate with the wood. Do it for all the hinges. Let dry. Then dap a blop of glue on the wood, put on the hinge and rub the hinge down. You should get the part of the hinge which is going to be attached to the wood nice and soft everywhere. What I mean to say is to not get the glue on the center part of the cloth hinge which needs to be flexible--not stiff. Once you have the hinges applied to the stab, and they have dried, repeat the process for the elevator. The double gluing is really the trick because you will get a really good tack which hold the hinge material down.

Some people use dope, and I have used it too, I just prefer Ambroid.

I also use sewn hinges, which are pretty good for the thin wood you usually see on the Flite Streak or Ringmaster. That thinness is why I don't particularly like the plastic hinges. It is hard to cut a slot and not come out either the top or the bottom surface.

Gary: Perhaps someone didn't adhere the hinges to the wood properly (Len, I happen to be a cloth hinge fan). Alan has it right. Also, I would use a little plastic squeegee, cut from an automobile one that is used for Bondo) and work that cement, Ambroid or Sig or whaterver, into the cloth.

I have had a few 30 year old hinges go bad and some others 40 years old are still good. Here is a lesson I learned about 25 years ago. I was building a Ruffy and ran out of my hinge material so I used bed sheet material. Well I got it back on the ground but the flaps were flapping in the wind for the whole flight.Three years ago I ran out of the material that I had been using for many years. I went and got a yard of backing material that every one elts was using. I did a test on it. I dipped it in thinner and it melted. I put it in fuel and it did the same.I couldn't find any that would not melt so I used it on a Ringmaster as a test and 200 flights latter it is still OK.
I have used it on four plane's since and no problems. Doping the plane does not melt the hinge. The hinges on my 40 year old Jet style stunter are still like new and I flew it two years ago. I must say that I run the hinges the entire length of the surface. I have seen many rip off when only a few hinges were used as many plans show.
Ed

I have been using Perfect brand cloth hinges for close to 35 years. I have never had a problem with them ever. I attach mine with Tite bond glue much in the same manner as the other description suggested. Pre-glue, let dry, put on the hinge. Makes me happy when I think about the 50 packs of large hinges I just got off EBAY. I don't believe I am in any danger of running out in this lifetime.

Bill

>What works for me is good old Ambroid glue.

I agree. I used cloth hinges from Brodak with
Ambroid, and never had a hinge fail.
In fact, your airplane can go straight
down into the ground under full power,
whump! and explode into a thousand pieces,
but the elevator hinges will still
be intact (ask me how I know this).

(ask me how I know this).
Ok I'll bite. How you know this?

Try figure 8 hinges made from old dental floss. They will last forever. Dave Day has a neat way to do them on his website.