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Simple Wing Strap

A project log for RC Planes

A project blog about scratch building radio control planes

quinnQuinn 07/16/2021 at 22:190 Comments

I've most of the time used rubber bands to mount wings to fuselages.  While simple, this has some upsides and downsides.  

Upsides: 

Downsides:

For smaller planes I'll definitely still use them, but with a recent plane, Rainbow Quartz which is a version of an ultra stik, I wanted to do something different.  I decided to make a sling out of strong fabric and Velcro.

The strap is a single layer of fabric with a loop on one end and folded taper on the other.  Sewn on Velcro forms the attachment.  I simple stitched the edge to prevent unraveling of the fabric, but you could also glue the edge, or use an artificial fabric and fuse the edge with a flame or soldering iron.   The length and location of the Velcro is dependent on the wind chord.

The fuselage requires a pair of dowels to attach the strap.  These are the same as if you are using rubber bands, but they no longer need to stick out into the air stream and can be flush with the fuselage. 

I inserted the rear dowel through the fuselage and the loop/pocket on the end of the strap.  To attach the wing, it can be set into it's place on the fuselage.  The strap is laid forward over it, under and around the front dowel, then back up to attach by Velcro on top.

It's important for the strap to run in this direction so that wind during flight doesn't push the Velcro towards opening.

This requires the fuselage to have an opening at the front of the wing so you can pull the strap down around the dowel and back up.

The pressure holding the wing in place without external forces is minimal, just due to the minor stretch in the fabric weave.  While this prevents digging into and wear and tear on the wing, it does mean that the wing needs to otherwise be mounted in the fuselage so it doesn't twist.  This model has a wing saddle built into the fuselage, which i think you need to plan for if using this method.

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