How to relieve very tight wing tubes??

[Barney Liftoff]

I have a 37.5% aviation models Yak with the improved wings. They doubled up on the ribs and probably caused the tube socket to squeeze inward at the ribs. The result is if I don't do something to enlarge the sockets in the wing I will have to get a trailer that is 12 feet wide. It took 3 people to pull it apart at the field. I was planning on making a tool with some sandpaper and spinning it with a drill. Anyone out there with some suggestions?

Barney Liftoff

[3DBatixkid]

If you can somehow chuck the tube up in a drill (like using a mandrel for sanding drums) you can turn the tube in the wing and add some borax soap to it. I did this and it seemed to work. Wet sanding the tube out of the wing is just a pain and can lead to a bad or uneven fit.

[Drysdale]

try using red scotchbrite on the tube itself if it is aluminum. This sometimes works

[Flyinrazrback]

I had a similar problem, I ended up using a cylinder brake hone attached to a drill to sand the phenolic tube in the wings and fuse, then I took my stock aluminum wingtube (non-anodized) and wetsanded with 1500 grit for a while, then waxed the tube a few times, and that helped a ton. A little baby powder helps too.

[sweetpea]

I sanded my alum tube on my 35% Edge......100grit then 600 grit. Put the tube in the plane and sanded one side at a time. Stopped when the tube was real snug (thus only requiring 2 people to take it out).

Then I used baby powder and polish until only one person could take it out. To this day its still tight (2yrs of flying) but removable.

[Shawn Berkheimer]

Is the wing socket made from phenolic or Fiberglass? If it is fiberglass as quite a few ARF manufacturers are using I would not sand the socket. If you are correct and it is a couple of ribs that are creating the problem you could easily sand right through the fiberglass in that spot. Myself I would notify AM and see if you could exchange this set of wings out for another that are 100% correct. If that is not an option, I would order up a CF wing tube and wet sand the CF tube with 150 grit until it fits correctly. the difference between a tight fit and a good snug fit is ony going to be .0005, you can easily sand that much away from a CF tube and not weaken it.


Shawn

[exeter_acres]

have you tried just putting a bit of vasaline on it?

[TrojanMan]

I have the same issue with my 37.5% Yak. My original wings were just as tight. The wing sockets are fiberglass so sanding them is not a good option?
I am also looking for a good idea. I will try to sand the tube a little and see what happens.

[Maudib]

If you have fiberglass or phenolic wingtube sleeves, taking the small amount needed to make a wingtube fit is not a big deal.

You can search the internet for a cylinder hone that will fit inside... It's bascially 3 whetstones on a spring loaded "claw-like" device... it evenly hones the sleeve out vs. trying a dowel with sandpaper...they run about $10-$12... but online they want about $10 shipping... Still a neat tool to have and slick as snot...

Chuck it in a drill with an extension and slowly and carefully run it in and out the sleeve.

Clean out the sleeve with a paper towel taped to a stick and test fit.

Repeat as necessary util you get the fit you require.

Some wings don't have a good stop inthe end of the sleev... make sure to slide the hone in manually until you can see it's bottomed and mark the shaft so you don't go too far in... that last 1/8" isn't critical anyway.

[SUPERFLYJAY]

BERNIE JAY HERE FROM BLACK DIRT I HAVE THE SAME PLANE AS YOU AND HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH MY NEW WINGS WHAT I DID WAS TAKE A CARDEN WING TUBE AND WRAPPED IT WITH SOME THIN FOAM AND TAPED IT TO THE TUBE ABOUT THE LENGTH OF THE WINGS OF THE YAK I THEN TOOK SOME SANDPAPER I THINK ABOUT 600 GRIT AND TAPED IT TO THE FOAM ON THE CARDEN WING TUBE COMPRESSED THE FOAM THATS ON THE CARDEN TUBE WITH THE SANDPAPER INTO THE YAK WING AND JUST WENT UP AND DOWN FOR ABOUT 10 MINS OR SO (CHECKING FREQ) FOR FIT ITS A PAIN IN THE ASS BUT IT WORKS, MAKE SURE BEFORE U CHECK FOR FIT EACH TIME U GET THE SANDING DUST OUT OF THE YAK WING. MINES A BIT SNUG BUT ITS WORKABLE NOW BY YOURSELF. IM ASSUMING YOU HAVE A CARDEN TUBE LAYING AROUND IF NOT ANY TUBE SHOULD WORK SEEING AS THE WING TUBE FROM THE YAK IS BIGGER THAN MOST PLANES. GOOD LUCK HOPE THIS HELPS.

JAY

[All Thumbs]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Maudib
	Some wings don't have a good stop inthe end of the sleev... make sure to slide the hone in manually until you can see it's bottomed and mark the shaft so you don't go too far in... that last 1/8" isn't critical anyway.

Ask me how I know! Make sure you measure the hone so it doesn't open inside the wing at the end of the tube!

You can use Maudib's procedure by pushing the tube into the wing and determine if it's just a localized location that's tight or whether the whole tube is tight. If it's just a few spots, here and there, you can measure from the outside root to the snag. Then just place the hone at that location and keep working until it slides okay.

As far as types of powders and such, I've used the bowling powder called super slide. It doesn't seem like it's affected by humidity and weather conditions.

And, like was mentioned before, if all else fails, get in touch with the manufacturer and see what they say. They may have gone through this and have a "quick fix" for your problem.

[exeter_acres]

Superfly.... time to get another keyboard as your "caps lock" button is broken

[Barney Liftoff]

You guys are awesome. I do have fiberglass wing sockets. I also own a brake hone and an extension bit holder. I will be very careful with the amount I hone. Too much is not an option. I think that I will also do some work on the tube itself. Jay's idea is also great. You have the same plane as I do and yes I do have Carden wing tubes left over from my late great departed Edge. Thanks for the great replies.

Bernie

[SUPERFLYJAY]

WELCOME BERNIE !!! AND THE CAP LOCKS ARE ON FOR US OLDER BLIND GUYS TO READ EASIER !!!

[rdgood]

Yeah Barney,

I have the old style and new beefed up style 37.5% wings they both were a bit tight. I did it the old fashioned way with a 3/8 dowel with a slot in the end. Took some 100 grit and chucked it up in my drill. If you have the brake hone - I believe that would work better. It shouldn't hurt anything but I would recommend to be careful not sand all the way through the fiberglass. It's definitely a pain ....

I think that the reason some folks have had wing failures is because of the tight fit issue. If you manhandle the root rib area and pull or grip too hard one can crunch the sheeting or a rib.


Ronster