'How to' Tapered trailing edges.

This idea started way back at the start of 2014 with me showcasing it in ths article......

https://www.flitetest.com/articles/reinforced-control-surface-hinges

Since then,as with many of my idea's it has bounced around at the back of my mind niggling away for an answer,how to make trailing edges easily and consistantly.My build method has changed significantly over the last couple of years,some would say too a point where it is no longer viable but truth be told,for me,this hobby is firstly and always about the design,build and finish then secondly the flight experience......slightly backwards i know  :-)

So onto how it's done,well simply put,firstly with patience.This process produces great results but it will add days,yes days to your build so it's not really for people who are just wanting their models in the air quickly.

Foamboard as I have found can be compressed in 2 ways,either on one side,as in like the below picture showing the end of the fuselage to tail join.

or on both sides as in the below picture of the tail

And the means for such compression.

It's a simple enough idea,just 2 pieces of hard laminated wood joined with a piano hinge.The compression comes courtesy of 4 hand clamps,the secret is to leave it at least overnight for each piece you are compressing for the best results. (well certainly Westfoam)

Depending on how foam is inserted will depend on how the foam is compressed.too achieve the first picture,the foam is inserted too the hinge inside the clamp laying flat on one side.The top is then closed over and held in place and compressed too the desired height by use of the clamps.This will only compress one side of the foam giving a ramp like effect,ideal for finishing off the end of the fuselage as I did on my FT P51 or the underside of the wings trailing edge.

see example below.....

(this is actually the skin for the wingtips of an F4 but the process is the same)

the afore mentioned join between fuselage and tail.

the underside of the wing,fully closed off.

The other  use i find particularly  nice is too compress both side so the foam comes to an even point,ideal for single skin  tail surfaces.This time however,the foam needs to be held evenly in line with the hinge then both sides are closed together at once too clamp the foam in place.

This is the tail for the FT P51 

You can clearly see the difference along side a stock piece of foam.

The finished tail of the P51

And again on a Duster.

Something worth considering is this,the single piece of  foam has now been compressed but it is still the same amount of material so in theory it should be slightly stronger,have more rigidity but still weigh the same. Always a good thing ! 

Moving on,this is where it starts to get funky !If you are making a double skinned tail as I showed in my original article then this is where we come full circle....

take the two halves and once compressed as below.....

join the two together so the outer edges taper towards each other and sand the leading edge to a rounded profile,this would give a more air-foil shape

all that would be left to do is cut your hinge line and relief on both sides.

And just too recap a short video of me trying too explain all this on camera ......

Now you may be wondering why bother ?  well why not is all I can say ?  one idea leads to the next....

Imagine where we would all be if the founding members of FT thought why bother ?? and didn't !!

Thanks for stopping by.

Scottie.