back to index 3. Covering Wings - Packing Tape Method To cover the wings, we recommend using a lightweight packing tape with a UV-resistant acrylic adhesive. The tape that you use should have a thickness of no more than 2mil, or 0.05mm (0.002 in), to keep the weight down. We don't recommend using iron-on coverings for the wings, as the likelihood of warping the wings is quite high. Since both wing halves are covered separately, before joining, taping them is quite painless as you will only be dealing with short strips of tape that are easy to manage. 10. Break apart foam cradles at the leading edge, so that the outer sides can be used to support the wing while taping. Remove any cutting residue from them. If you aren't too concerned about getting a little glue on your work bench, you can spray a very light coat of adhesive on the outer surface of the supports and then stick them to your work surface while the glue is still tacky. This will hold the support beds in place while you cover the wing. You could also use a few strips of double-sided tape. 11. If you would like to apply a fancy color scheme, you can use clear tape over a spray paint and/or colored pen paint scheme. Note that paint does add weight, so use sparingly and try to use the least amount near the trailing edge of the wing. We recommend painting the only the leading edge with a bright color to increase visibility. But of course, EPP is like a blank canvas, so feel free to go wild! Make sure to allow the paint to dry before proceeding.   12. If the paint leaves a rough residue on surface, gently sand using 150 grit sandpaper. Unlike spray paint, color pens never leave any roughness, so do not bother sanding if you used them. Clean wings with tack rag or vacuum. 13. Spray both sides of each wing half with an even and light coat of spray adhesive. Allow adhesive to dry until it is tacky but does does not transfer to your finger when touched. This usually takes five to ten minutes at room temperature.   14. Place wing on top of support bed on work surface. Cover top of wing first and start taping at trailing edge, working forward. Overlap tape by approximately 5mm. The first strip is placed overhanging trailing edge by approximately 15mm. The tape is gently placed over wing and is smoother down with a flexible plastic squeegee. The tape is then trimmed flush with root and the tape overhanging the trailing edge is folded over onto bottom surface. The overhanging tape at the wingtip is also folder over and onto the bottom surface. You will have to pick up the wing when folding these overlaps onto the bottom surface. Take care not to cut into the foam while trimming the tape flush with the root of the wing.       15. When you reach the leading edge, trim overhanging tape so that it is parallel to leading edge and overhangs by approximately 15mm. Fold this overhang around leading edge and onto bottom surface of wing using the squeegee and light pressure.   16. To cover bottom of wing, place other wing half into bottom support bed and cover it with the middle portion of the support beds. You can now place the partially covered wing, bottom side up, onto the support beds to cover the bottom of the wing. When trimming tape flush at the root, take care not to cut through the antenna.   17. Locate elevons and inspect to see if any sanding is necessary. We do not recommend rounding or tapering the rear edges of the elevons. Carefully soak the outside edges of the balsa elevons with thin CA; however, do not apply CA to beveled side of elevons. Soaking the edges with CA makes them hard and more durable.   18. Spray elevons with a very light coat of adhesive and allow to dry for several minutes. Cover elevons with tape or lightweight iron-on film. There is no need to wrap the covering around the curved rear trailing edges. Simply trim the covering material flush with a razor blade or hobby knife. Do however wrap the covering around the beveled edge of the elevon.   19. To attach the elevons to the wing, use a bottom surface tape hinge. You can use clear, 20mm-wide (3/4 in) office tape to make your hinge. The hinge should be a single strip of tape applied to the bottom of the wing. The bevel on the elevon faces up. Make sure the hinge does not bind and the elevon moves easily with little effort. If it binds, remove and re-do hinge. Applying the tape hinge to the bottom, allows you to get away with using only one strip of tape which is extremely light in weight. Having the tape hinge on the bottom also keeps the exposed adhesive away from the dirt.   4. Joining Wing Halves All text, images and other content © 2003 Richter R/C. All rights reserved.