Hinges

Why not use aluminum tubing as the barrel of the hinge with music wire as the hinge pin. The aluminum could be easily cut in 4 ” to 6” lengths, possibly longer or shorter. The aluminum tubing pieces alternating between the stationary surface and the control surface. Obviously the pieces on the end would have to be attached to the stationary surface. My thoughts on attachment would be CA it in place then make the permanent attachment by sewing , several materials should work but am thinking of Kevlar thread or monofilament fishing line/leader , plastic cover such as Monokote wrapped over the aluminum and the sealed to the surfaces, fiberglass cloth with epoxy , just epoxy, silks an and dope or possibly cloth hinge material and you favorite adhesive. A plug could be inserted into the end of the tubing to keep the wire in place.
I have had this idea for hinges for some time but I have never seen it or tried it. The biggest disadvantages I see is hiding the attachment and weight. The weight may not be to big a factor as the hinges for the flap would be close to the CG and the on elevator would add weight to the tail of the plane which I usually have to do anyway. The advantages I see are sealing the gap between surfaces and it would support the hinged surface the full length. All input would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance for any thoughts and comments you might have.

Weight is always a factor, regardless of where on the airframe you put it.

The best idea I'd tried so far came from Erik at RSM. Glue a piece of triangular stock onto the flat front edge of the flap to give you a straight line (or sand/route if you have the tooling/patience) down the center of the material.

Then glue on one side of a length of hinge material made by stitching two strips of poly cloth down the center with a nylon thread. Then position the flap and glue the other side onto the trailing edge. Makes a sealed gap with a hinge the whole length.

Erik sold me some pre-made hinge material he got from the R/C crowd, but when I asked for more for the latest project, he said it was no longer in production.

You can make up your own with the right materials and some spray on glue.

This method of hinges has been around since the 50's at least. Speed planes, scale, PA, Good Year racers, etc. have all used them. Even some very modern PA planes have this type of hinge. The various ways to attach them are as varied as the number of people that use them. I have used them once and used silk and epoxy to hold the tube in place. Alignment, it goes without saying, but I'll say it, is very critical. Not hard to do, but requires attention. Light sewing machine oil is what I used to lubricate the hinges. Just a drop and it flows the entire length of the hinge line.

PW has used a similar method. You could go all out and use plastic tubing too. Paul has some sort of eyelet on the end of the wing and slid in the wire with a 90 degree bend at the end. The wire clipped into the eyelet. Very slick. Just pop it out of the eyelet and pull the hinge wire.

At least you wouldn't have to seal the hinge lines.

Indeed, PW's first B-17 project used the "tube 'n wire" hinges. I asked; he said he CA'd them in place and built up fillets with CA & Microballoons. But he said you still have to seal the hingeline with tape. His tube sections were about 1" long, and I haven't seen them on one of his models since. The Klett hinges he uses have the pins removed, and a single piece of wire from each tip to center, like Randy said. To my way of thinking, this makes the tube 'n wire hinges more trouble than they're worth, but perhaps better looking than nylon hinges with the removable wire. To repeat, you still need to seal the hingelines. Steve

PS: New Avatar is a steaming hot Cheeseburger. The other one was wearing me out. Hope Dan likes it better.

Yum, yum. That jumping moron was getting to me too. I had to hold my left hand over the screen just to concentrate on your messages. Ha.

Aluminium/aluminum will gell on the piano wire. Use brass instead.
http://www.iroquois.free-online.co.uk/hinges.htm