Nigel R

Oh good gosh why have I not thought of those doohickeys before.

Incidentally. Dubro lazer rods are very good and come as a complete kit with studs and clevis etc etc. They are still fairly priced too (unlike the now absurdly priced sullivan snakes I used to buy)

Fairly sure it's a weird thread specific to spokes. I've built a few wheels too. DT Swiss swaged spokes every time...

Would the brass joiner be solid enough to butt join two torque rods? I admit I'd prefer to use the screw fitting that these come with, as it gives some scope to fine tune / adjustment.

I would need to thread both ends. Would work with mild steel but I'm skeptical about being able to thread piano wire. Maybe I should try that. Either way the commercially available rods are too short, sadly

No, the brass tubes are to flatten and drill, one at either end of the torque rod. It's to link two inboard servos with outboard twin rudders. Surfaces are too thin for burying a servo. My other idea was to bury a bell crank but I preferred the torque rod idea so I'm trying that first...

You only need about an inch of threaded rod at the end of the snake. as suggested already, M2 studding is available from many shops, just cut it down as you need.

spare ribs..? 🍖

I don't know much about alphabetic glue I'm afraid... Peter's suggestion is probably the best route forward for you. Should be plenty strong enough. Thin, properly thin, cyano, can make balsa a lot stiffer and cracks like this are made almost as strong as the original wood, if you're careful about the repair. The trick is making sure you've pulled the wood out so that it is all back in exactly the same place again. In the past I've poked a hole in the sheet and used a bent piece of wire to pull sheeting back out to flat, before using the thinnest cyano to soak into the crack

Not sure I follow - how I could use the ball of a ball link?

where is the crack? wing root, tip, or in the middle?

I have a large pile of (old, but perfectly viable) Graupner Super Nylon grey IC props. Guess what I use on my small electrics (and on a few IC setups, too)...

Thanks Martin, yes that was the worry point, getting inside the tube to clean, it'll have to be flux.

Thanks chaps. My usual with piano wire is some fresh fine grit paper, then leave the flux in place for a good few minutes, then tin. Seems like this will be just more of the same 🙂

Question for any seasoned metalworkers out there. I'm somewhat familiar with binding and soldering piano wire for UC and cabanes and suchlike, or soldering mild steel washers to piano wire, but, I've not soldered brass tube to piano wire. Intended use is for a DIY torque rod which needs to be, a) longer than the usual prefab 12g offerings and, b) double ended (!). I have some KS tube & wire which fits together perfectly. Is there anything special I need to know about prepping? My toolkit is a basic torch, leaded solder and flux.

It's really not. You can just note down where the slots are on a bit of paper, or on the plan. I much prefer to have all gear and the various rods & linkages in place and working at the earliest point possible, i.e. before going near covering. Horses for courses.

You certainly don't get much sellotape for your £69.

Always hinge first, cover second, glue third.

Different cat https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=10497 Harry Gilkes did a few 'Cats', but this one looks about right for a 30FS.

You could go for anything that used to use one of the plain bearing 0.25FP engine (Dereck Woodward used them everywhere). The 30FS is very nearly equal in both weight and power. Little Special might be my choice from his output.

I'm a bit late for the discussion here... Most current generation petrol engines in our cars are very very close to that F1 arrangement already, with a totally dry intake path and direct cylinder injection. Since mid 2000s this has become common. (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_direct_injection) A world apart from our basic spraybar carbs. Diesel engines have been direct injection for many years of course.

Your model, your choice, no wrong answer here.

Just like a model with fixed gear except you can make it collapse in the pits by accident.

https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=12174 looks like a homebuilt, near fun fly performance, 40 size power not sure if that's at "the right" construction level, its fairly similar in build style to peggy sue

D box - is the sheeting balsa? I'd be tempted to make a handful of centre ribs from balsa if distortion is an issue, the wing is retained by bands?