CA Hinges By James Goss      I think of ca hinges as being the eight wonder of the world, how did I ever get along without them? Not all modelers will agree with me on this topic, just the other day I had a fellow modeler comment that he would never use ca hinges. The last plane he bought had ca hinges on all control surfaces, the first thing he did was to cut them all and install conventional epoxy hinges. I agree that conventional epoxy type hinges appear to be more secure than ca, but over the years I have had more conventional hinges to go bad than ca type hinges. That is until I had five ca hinges on one aileron to rip out on a large 60-inch profile. I noticed the plane had a little different sound and also that it would fall out of a hover a lot sooner than before. When I brought it in for a landing I was shocked to see five of the seven hinges on the right aileron had ripped in half and the aileron was just hanging on at the root of the wing by two hinges and the aileron pushrod. It was like the tip hinge broke first and then the next, and the next, and the next, right on down the line until it got to the pushrod. This plane had many previous flights on it and I always check things out before each flight, so I know all five hinges broke during the last flight.      Even with this problem I am still an avid user of ca hinges on all my small and medium size planes. Of course giant scale planes needs special attention when it comes to hinges. Nothing will change my mind about them being the best thing that has happened to model airplanes. What really sold me on them is the fact that I can completely cover the plane and then cut the slots and install the hinges with a few drops of ca. I can hinge a complete plane in about 30 minutes or less instead of four or five hours like I have been known to spend on some planes. You have just got to love the electric slot machine for cutting the hinge slots for ca hinges. This is one tool that really works! I like to use it while resting on a large two-inch thick foam-pad; this really stabilizes the whole operation.           Another use for ca hinges is to beef up the screw holes in cowlings and canopy installations. I have found them to work better than glass cloth because they are so neat and thin, they are also much stronger than fiberglass cloth. You can count on a plastic cowling breaking at the screw holes if you fly the plane a lot and this is the best way I have found to combat this problems. They are also good for adding strength to balsa joints. For example, I have a friend that uses then on the balance of a rudder. If your plane ever tumbles on take off or landing and hits on the top of the rudder's balance, it will more than likely break at the junction of the overhang. Splitting that junction and installing a ca hinge will really beef it up.      Most modelers install ca hinges by placing a pin through the centerline of the hinge. This will prevent the hinge from being pushed forward when the two surfaces are put together and will ensure that both surfaces have equal hinge material to grip. I have used this method for years and it really works fine. Here is a caution when using this method. I have determined why I had five hinges to go bad at the same time. When I placed T-pin in the hinges I used large 1 ¼ inch T-pins. You do not want to use these larger pins. They make a hole so large that it weakens the hinge; always use the smallest pins you can fine.  Some modelers prefer to use a pencil mark instead of pins. This is ok but it will not hold the hinges in place during installation. If you have some special use for ca hinges that you have found to work for you let us know about it. Be sure to always use thin ca and only two or three drops on each side of the hinge. Any more and you will find it all over the wing or aileron and maybe a finger bonded to the aileron.