Balsa USA Stingray with DLE-20, RC Plane Build N0 7: Elevator Construction

Welcome to my build series of the Balsa USA Stingray RC plane kit. The Stingray 120 is a great trainer and sport rc plane with an 83-inch wingspan and powered by a DLE-20 RC gas rc plane engine. I will be using a Futaba transmitter system with with Futaba or Hitec servos and receiver. This plane is designed for .80 to .90 2-stroke glow engines, .90 to 1.20 4-stroke glow engines, and 15cc to 30cc gas engines. I will be using basic techniques of building rc plane balsa kits (or at least the techniques I have learned over the years to build rc planes).
In this video I construct the elevator and horizontal stabilizer.
All of these videos will be placed on a playlist.
I have been building, flying, crashing, modifying, and repairing radio control planes (RC Planes) for many years and enjoy sharing what I do with the radio control plane community, so I started RC Plane Tech channel for fun. I am not an expert, there are many different techniques when building radio control planes. A good way to learn about flying and building rc planes is to see what others are doing, that's what I do and that's why I like to share what I do.
Thanks for watching my channel. Hopefully you will find my videos a little interesting and perhaps fun to watch.

[@goodboyringo9716]

The great thing about building a plane is that you know the plane and if it does go down you can repair it

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Yep, one of the advantages to building.

[@btilentrails]

At minute 21 for the dowl, take a pencil and pull the eraser out of the pencil and use the metal and its roundness, like a chisel. Makes it nice and round for the dowel to sit in.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Nice! That’s a great tip I need to remember. Thanks

[@ToyManFlyer1100]

😊😊😊... Well, if I can put my Amateur Engineer hat on...I think the reasons they got you Laminating the Trailing Edge is....1...The Laminate with a Bonding agent allows for more strength due to two different density and/or cross-sectional grains of the woods...2...When you insert/install the hinges, then I think the stock has a less chance of splitting due to being bonded with a bonding agent as opposed to a solid piece which only has the fibers of the wood to keep the stock intact...😊😊👍👍

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Hi, that could be true. Sometimes these kit designers do things that may not make sense to me, but usually there is some purpose they have. I was thinking it may be because it avoids having to cut a notch in a thicker piece to accommodate the tip pieces, just have to cut one shorter than the other. But like you suggest, two pieces with the laminate is probably stronger, so its a win win. Thanks for comment!

[@ToyManFlyer1100]

@@JamesRCPlaneTech ...No probs....

[@TheBigChinoDon]

Just finished covering the tail of my Stingray with SolarTex.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Awesome, you will finish way before me!

[@andystoybox1723]

Awesome! Great work 👍🏻👍🏻

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thanks!

[@anthony3D]

Super 👍

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thank you 👍

[@joepellissier2091]

Well done James. I took a pause on my build and not I am anxious to get back to when.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Great, thanks. Sometimes we need a break to keep it fresh.

[@user-dn5ok5fz1t]

I think this plane is turning out to be a real winner I bet she flies like a dream when you get her finished!!!!

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thanks ! I hope so. As long as I can avoid pilot error!

[@joepellissier2091]

@@JamesRCPlaneTech can you say Smoothie???,lol

[@robertmonroe2969]

Beautiful!!

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thanks!

[@tomflynn7373]

Looking good James, what a difference in size versus the Smoothie. I am almost done with my Smoothie, I spent January building the wing, July the fuselage and November covering spending about an hour or two each day. I would say it took me about 2.5 months, 1-2 hours a day so about 125 hours on average. I am curious if that time is normal since it was my first build.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Hi, and thanks. The Smoothie had a 52” span? This is 83”. The Smoothie would be a “40 class” and this a 1.2 or class, it will be the biggest plane I have had. I guess build rate all depends on much time you can spend on it. Back when I was younger and lots of time a kit like this would take only a few months, these days 6 months to a year, working on it a few hours a week. This is why a lot of people got away from building or never have done it. For me the building is part half the fun and as long as I other planes to fly in the meantime, Ill take my time building. The more you build the faster you will complete them as well. Sounds like you are doing well and the rate is not bad for a build like this.

[@davekearn292]

Great build. Just one question, when you CA glued the joint I see you may have rub some on the balsa wood. Will that be a problem covering the plane?

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Hi, thanks. And no, its ok. I just rub off the excess. I use Monokote primarily and find that it adheres well. I also have used thin CA to strengthen surfaces such as around bolts or control horns, and I have seen people use CA with fiberglass cloth on surfaces and its ok.

[@davekearn292]

I'm rebuilding a Wild Hots profile plane and to Soak the balsa wood around the brakes in the frame after reinforce them. I try to sand them but it seems like it not smooth out.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

It is hard to sand CA or epoxy smoothly to blend with the balsa for sure. In my case, I was just wiping excess off and smoothing with the wood, it wasn’t built up. You could try spot sanding with a rougher sand paper carefully then blend with a finer.

[@user-dn5ok5fz1t]

Just to let you know its not base wood its bass wood like the fish.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thanks.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Not sure where I got the e in that. Lol

[@miker7294]

Thanks for sharing. I’m building a 1/12 scale mustang and used some wood glue on build something I’ve not done in the past. Really enjoyed doing this, allowed myself more time to set it up correctly. Question for you what brand of CA do you use? Oh this is my 4th plane that I’ve built so far. Thanks again for all the videos. I’ve really enjoyed them and your an inspiration.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thanks I appreciate it, cool that you are building! Right now I’m using the Starbond CA glues, thin and thick. Zap is a good brand also. Good luck with your building!

[@andystoybox1723]

I would love to see the maiden of this bird ! 😍😍 what days do you usually go to Whitter narrows ?

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Hi , it’s gonna be a while before I finish this but trying to make progress each week. When I can there, I try Friday mornings. Lots of other things have been getting in the way lately.

[@andystoybox1723]

@@JamesRCPlaneTech yeah I understand 👍🏻 lots of work .. I will be following your build 👍🏻 I am learning a lot .. thanks

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thanks a lot, much appreciated.

[@tomflynn7373]

James this one seems to be coming along a little quicker than the Smoothie, I don’t know if that is true or it just seems that way to me. I noticed you are using the thick CA instead of the thin CA on this build, any particular reason and what are your thoughts on this?

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Hi , ya I’m trying to streamline the videos a little, and get a vid out once a week or so. The Smoothie took me almost a year. Im trying to keep the interest up on it by keeping on it. As for the CA, I traditionally used thin mostly and it worked well on smaller planes, but it seems that people use thick CA more on the bigger planes and also when gluing different types of wood, so I have gotten into using it more. Plus the instructions are to use thick ca throughout so far, so thats part of it as well. I’ve also noticed that people use thin for tacking a lot and thick for the permanent bond. And I’m not sure, but it seems on this build the thin is not working as well, I really need the thick to get the wood to bond, I’m not sure why. Maybe because its bigger gluing surfaces compared to smaller planes which I have used thin primarily. I just ordered another bottle, Im using so much of it.

[@user-dn5ok5fz1t]

I only use thin ca when gluing balsa to balsa like when bonding 2 sheets together to make a wider sheet. I use medium mostly for other things annd I use thick if I need a gap filled or if I need alot of time for positioning the part.

[@evelkenevel7948]

Did you ever make the Balsa wood P - 51 from quality royal? If so can you link me to it...

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Not yet, I really like that kit and want to. I’m on the fence about what kits to build, because on one hand a kit like this would be awesome, but it’s relatively rare and not very accessible to others. On the other, hand, something like the Balsa USA kits are readily available so others can build them but may not be as cool. So I have to think about what to build.