With all this talk about taping gaps and flight improvements with doing so, and it does make plenty of sense, I'd like to close my gaps, on The International, as tight as possible without using tape. Even when the R/C pattern guys were using tape, I just couldn't bring myself to using it. Cleanup, maintenance, replacement, all of that.
So, with this said, and I hope the die hard tape users don't get offended, gotta remember, I don't compete, so I'm not looking for competition quality in my models. I'm looking more towards a building challenge and something a bit different is what I would say my motovation is.
Now I have used short cut sections of tubes which were used as bushings and pivot points for control surfaces in scale models. However, I have never used a tube in a tube the full length of the control surface.
I have seen photos of modelers using CF rods in their airplanes, but nothing up close or detailed that would aid me in this construction?
I really don't want to spend any money for CF rods, but I would consider it as plan B.
I do however, already have aluminum tubing that could possibly fit the bill.
I've been sizing this stuff over my stab/elevator drawing to get some ideas about how I'm going to pull this off.
As you can see from the photo, the stab and elevator is 26" in span and .75" thick. The thickness is one of the reasons I would like to rule out a "V" cut elevator.
I'm hoping someone has done this before?
Thanks in advance.
Charles