Hi
I'm planning on removing pin hinges and replacing them. After reading a bunch of post I think I'm going to try the soldering iron melting the old hinges out. If that doesn't work I'll try to make the brass tube cutter and core them out.

Once out what's the best way to regulus the new hinges? If I can melt the old hinges out do I just epoxy the new ones in or should I open the holes up a bit and glue some type of wood in then re drill?

If I core the old ones out I am guessing I would need to fill the old hole. Should I open that hole up a bit more as well? If in either case I have to open the hole, how much bigger should I go?

Thanks

Best way to prep for new hinges is while the covering is not on the surfaces. You can re-glue new backing blocks and re-drill them to the correct size, then cover the plane.

Me, I prefer doing the surface hinging when the wings and surfaces have only 1/2 their convering on. Example, cover the bottom of the wing, and bottom of the ailerons like you normally would, do your normal overlap, like normal, yet leave the top of the wings and surfaces uncovered.

Glue new wood backing blocks if using Robart Hinges, I recess the hinges in a bit to keep the control gaps to a minimum. Glue in the wing hinges, make sure they are all moving in the right direction, and since the wing is open, put a dab of glue on the protruding end to act as additional hinge retainer.

When dry, put the aileron / control surface on and glue the same way, putting in glue on the inside as well to retain the hinges. Once the its' dry, finish covering the surfaces and wing accordingly. You will have the strongest double retained hinges.

Originally Posted by dw87

Hi
I'm planning on removing pin hinges and replacing them. After reading a bunch of post I think I'm going to try the soldering iron melting the old hinges out. If that doesn't work I'll try to make the brass tube cutter and core them out.

Once out what's the best way to regulus the new hinges? If I can melt the old hinges out do I just epoxy the new ones in or should I open the holes up a bit and glue some type of wood in then re drill?

If I core the old ones out I am guessing I would need to fill the old hole. Should I open that hole up a bit more as well? If in either case I have to open the hole, how much bigger should I go?

Thanks

Is there a specific reason you're replacing them such as improperly installation, broken, worn out, etc ???

Wayne

Sorry gents I guess I wasn't specific, my apologizes.

I have puchased a used plane and it is covered and I want to replace the pin hinges due to bad installation. The plane didn't have full deflection of the control surfaces.

The plane is a PAU 50cc extra.

Thank you.

I have found that using a very hot soldering iron tip and melting the hinges works reasonably well, but may leave some plastic fragments rattling around inside of the covering surfaces that may be impossible to remove without peeling back or replacing the covering.
I then use the same holes to smear some Gorilla Glue inside the hinge holes that are usually oversized by the time they are cleaned up. Spritz with some water, and do the same with the lubricated hinge point also. As the Gorilla Glue cures and foams, it occupies any dead space between the wood and hinges. For the first 45-60 minutes keep flexing the hinged surface, and using a little acetone on a Q-tip to clean up extra glue. Works well and keeps from having to plug old holes and redrilling which may displace the hinge blocks on the backside of the beveled surfaces.

Loctite Hysol E20