I use these all the time. I put the hinges on before covering the surface with silkspan.
Don

Here are my taffeta hinges on my Oriental.. I use masking tape to get them even, on the top only. I doped these on, but have thought about using spray glue or Balsarite.. This is the neatest and quickest hinging method I have ever used... plus it "turns out perfect" for deflection.. I put three coats of clear on and then use a mix of 80% thinner and 20% clear to adhere them.. I do one side at a time. Be sure to snug the surfaces up tight or you end up with a loose hinge.. the beauty of these hinges is 2 fold.. a square yard of taffeta is $3.00, enough to do 50 planes.. and they are forgiving, if you make a mistake .. just paint some lacquer on them and start over.. be careful not to sand through them.. extra clear won't hurt a bit.. I use Nitrate but you can use low shrink or regular dope.. No Nitrate over regular dope... but you can paint regular dope over Nitrate..

The hinges on the elevator are 1" in width and 2 1/4" long
The flaps are 1 1/2" wide and 2 1/4" long ..

I would only use iron on plastic hinges on .049 -.10 sized planes. I have seen it on some larger planes but that is just what I would do... there could be a whole article done on just hinges..

Jim

The Elevator
   

The Flap
   

I also prefer the polyester hinges, no oil leaks into the wing and hinge line is sealed. This is my method. I put about 4 or 5 coats of nitrate dope on the edges and about 1/2 inch back from the hinge line. Cut a bunch of hinges, about .8 wide by about 2-2.5 long. If you have a problem with the poly fraying as you cut it, you can give it a real thin coat of clear dope. I put all the hinges, alternating top and bottom on one side of the joint first. Lay one in place and hit it with a brush wet with acetone, instant stick! add the rest the same way. Now bring in the other part and clamp in proper alignment and just go down the line and stick these, checking each one to be sure it is smooth and not puckered. If not right, hit it with the juice and redo it. When all finished, take a six inch steel rule and lay it on the hinges with one edge a half inch from the hinge line. Take a fresh #11 Exacto blade, pretend you are a surgeon and just cut thru the polyester and lift the tag ends off. If they stick a bit hit them with the magic juice and they will come right up. Don't fret about slight cuts in the wood, it's going to get filled with dope and then covered with silkspan anyway. This will work really good on a Skyraider.

It's getting close. Should be done next week and you will get the first copy pronto!
Don

A long time ago (late '60s) Lew MacFarland taught me to use un-inked typewriter ribbon for hinges. It comes on 1000' rolls. It's nylon, about .004 thick, woven to eliminate unraveling and very smooth. It's so thin that it practically vanishes under 4 coats of Nitrate clear, and is completely invisible after covering/painting. The only disadvantage is that it's aabout 5/8" wide, so it takes a lot of hinges. I've been looking for a new source, as the old one (IBM) quit making ribbons a bunch of years ago, and I have only about 1/3 of a roll left.

Good find, Jim! What I use is closer in appearance to the stuff in the inset photo, without the lines. I'd like to see the specs on this stuff (thickness), and see if it's were possible to order a roll (not a case). Ah well, the 300 - 400 feet I still have may prove to be a "lifetime supply" . . .