Warped wing

[piroflip]

So,,,,,,,,,,,,,after spending many months slowly getting my Veron Deacon together I decided to dope the tissue covered wing top and bottom at the same time to avoid warps.

I did this successfully for the starboard wing but due to time restraints I doped the top and then the bottom of the port wing 24hrs apart.

The result? A Fairly badly (3 or 4 deg) twist in the wing.

I was hoping to test fly it in a week or so.

Can anybody offer a miracle cure/fix?

[Martin]

Twisting it the opposite way while applying some heat will sometimes fix minor warps. Some people just twist and hold the wing in their hands near a fire, or you can clamp / weigh it down on a flat board with some packing to provide the opposite twist and use a hot air gun.

If you can get the opposite twist into the wing without anything breaking or splitting, then time alone is enough to cure the warp - you don't need the heat. It might take quite a few days though.

Warps do have a habit of reappearing, so even after you fix the warp you need to recheck the wing before the first few flying sessions to make sure it's not crept back in.

[Shaun]

Here you go,

1) Try a bit of heat.. Twisting out the warp - hair dryer can work but don't set it on fire.

The best way however assuming it was flat when built is:-

2) Pin wing down flat on your building board and re dope the top first with a 50 -50 thinners and dope. Let dry and see how it is when it dries out properly. If still warped repeat on the lower wing but obviously dope it first then pin down on tiny spacers to raise it above the board. You don't need to dope the leading and trailing edges so the blocks shouldn't stick to the wing.

Cheers,

Shaun

[Pchristy]

Re: heat.....

Get an old fashioned kettle (one that doesn't switch off when boiling!) and bring to the boil. Hold warped wing in steam, and twist straight. Try to over-correct a bit!

Once happy, while still holding wing in corrected position, remove from steam and allow to cool.

The reason for over-correcting is that warps do have a habit of creeping back. By over-correcting, it will hopefully creep back to straight!

Check regularly, as you may need to repeat after a while, but usually after a few treatments, the wing will stay straight!

Using steam avoids the risk of overheating the covering and damaging it, but this method only works on doped tissue or nylon - NOT on film!

--
Pete

[piroflip]

many thanks Pete.

[piroflip]

Well I asked for a miracle cure and got one.

All I did was wave the warped half over the steam for ten seconds whilst gently twisting and it went dead straight.

Thanks again Pete.

[Pchristy]

Excellent!

--
Pete