build it light

[daniel roberts]

All - this months Model Aviation magazine from the AMA had an interesting article about glues in the Free Flight section - p.80

For a really light build, the article recommends using a thin downed nitrocellulose glue such as Duco - which I sniffed as a kid while building models. 

Whadaya think? Could it be that much lighter than thin downed aliphatic or CA?

Dan R.

[Carris Mike]

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[Carris Mike]

CA works for me.

On Tuesday, April 14, 2026 at 03:58:30 PM MDT, daniel roberts <dan...@live.com> wrote:

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[Ward]

For indoor free flight (Science  Olympiad) events we used Sig-ment, which was Ambroid  glue. Not sure if it is the same as Duco…it is acetone based.

Ward

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 14, 2026, at 5:45 PM, 'Carris Mike' via soarabq <soa...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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[Carris Mike]

The forces on a free flight aircraft are not as great as the stress put on a glider launched on a high start, or loosing altitude to make time and a spot landing. 

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[STAN JOHNSON]

Test and verify.  I would be amazed to find that Duco Cement, Sigment, or any of those old school glues would be lighter than thin CA.  Especially when you consider that you must "prime" the glue joint when using the old glues for maximum strength in the bond.  You put a light coat of the glue on the parts, let it dry for a few seconds, then a second coat for the final bond.

 

One thing that the old glues are great for is joining balsa wing skins.  Tape the skin sheets together,  prime the edges, then wipe the glue that oozes out of the joint with acetone.  When done correctly you have a near invisible joint that requires very little sanding, and those old glues sand easily compared to CA, white glues, or epoxy.

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