Gliders > Slope Soaring

West Wings Skylark build thread

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EI1638:
You could try cutting it roughly to shape and then soaking it (really soaking it, overnight or longer) and then tape it into place to allow it to dry. I've heard of people using crepe bandages for this. You need to be careful with the pressure points otherwise you can end up with a 'starved horse' look

Not a task I particularly enjoy, but needs must.

If its something like wing sheeting you can dampen one side (outer side), it will swell, causing the sheet to curve.

angry_muppet:
I started this morning to try and cover some of the more simple areas; my first attempt wasn't so good...


The covering didn't want to stay in line with the base of the fin...



I think the white lines are caused by the glue left behind as the covering shrank?

Any tips for ensuring the covering doesn't curve as it shrinks?  Is it as simple a solution as leaving approx half an inch overhang to allow for the shrinkage?

alibodin:
Angry Muppet

A tip would be to try the covering iron at a lower temperature, you want the iron hot enough to attach the covering and not too hot too hot to shrink it.

Try a bit of covering on some balsa and see what works.

Model looks lovely. I had one years ago and it flew nicely.

Alistair

Peter:
Tack down, trim and secure the film around the edges with the iron and let it cool   - then heat and shrink the middle part of the surface last without heating the edges again.  In this way the film will not pull away.  Nice build.

Happy Days:
Hey David,

I think the reason the covering has pulled away from the edge (in the first photo) is either because you didn’t stick that part down too well before you started to shrink the covering,….or, you didn’t dust the wood before you tried to stick the covering.

Always best to dust off the wood you are going to cover.  You might have got a coating of sanding dust on it after you’ve sanded smooth all the parts of the airframe and the glue on the covering simply stuck to the dust, not the actual wood itself.

In addition, as Alistair said, you have almost certainly had the iron too hot for the type of covering you are using. It takes a little time to establish the correct temperature for each type of covering. Take your time and turn up the heat gradually, leave the iron for a few minutes to come up to temperature and try it on the covering. If it hasn’t pulled the covering tight then increase the setting a little more and repeat.

Finally, covering compound curves is a very tricky job. I’m crap at it. :(  (Tips of the wings, tail plane, top of the fin and the nose are all difficult.) The ability comes with loads of practice. Someone once told me that until you can completely cover a cricket ball with shrink covering and not leave a single crease should you try to cover a model plane! I’d never get a plane in the air if that were the case. :lol:

Cover compound curves a little bit (2mm) at a time and pull the covering tight as you stick the covering to the curve. Failing that simply cut the covering and stick it overlapping a bit at a time.

Now that you are learning all these difficult parts of a build you will never look at another home built model in the same light again. Next time you see a model look at the compound curves and see how well the builder has covered them. It’ll give you an idea of the builders skill level. Ha! :lol:

L. Keith

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