I'm building my first Road Kill kit, a Lockheed Electra and I seem to be having trouble getting the heat shrink tubing to join the control links together without any slippage.

I'm using a heat gun, which shrinks the tubing well and it holds fairly tightly, but there is enough slippage to cause the control surfaces to become misaligned within a couple of minutes of use. Any suggestions?

From : Don Stackhouse

Yes, two.

1. You may be able to get more shrink out of the tubing by using the tip of a soldering iron.

2. After shrinking the tubing as far as it will go, if things are still a little loose, just wick a drop of thin C/A into the end of the tube. Be careful not to let it run down the wire into any of the yellow tube bearings!

The C/A will lock the connection securely. If you need to readjust it later, just grip the wire on one side of the tubing tightly with some long-nosed pliers, then twist the heat shrink tube. You could also twist the other wire on the other end of the tubing with a second pair of pliers. You will feel the wire suddenly break loose from the C/A, leaving you with a friction fit that's usually adequate for a flight test. Once you're happy with the setting, wick some more thin C/A into the end of the tube to re-lock it.

The later kits we've packed have some slightly smaller shrink tubing in them for a little tighter initial fit on the thinner wires, still it's a good idea to lock the settings with those using thin C/A as well.

Don Stackhouse
DJ Aerotech