Wing Tubes in Plug In Wing - Loose Fit - How to Tighten Up

Question: I have an Extra 330L and I find that one of the plug in wing panels is slightly loose on one of the wing tubes. Is this a problem? How can I tighten this up a but.

Answer: Actually this answer applies to pretty much any of our models that have plug in wings and aluminum wing tubes. If you want a tighter fit, we suggest inserting the tubes through the fuselage and then applying a small piece of heat shrink tubing around the end and mid point of the wing tube that is loose. This will increase the diameter of the tube slightly and you can adjust the thickness of tube by adding additional heat shrink layers if you wish. Or if you are short on shrink, vinyl like MacTac or even black vinyl electricians tape works well.

If you want to do this to both sides of the wing tubes to accomodate both plug in wing panels, you will have to consider the following:

a) You can increase the diameter of both ends (but not the middle) of the tube and leave it in place in the fuselage, or

b) You can increase the diameter of the entire tube (shrink works well for this) and ream out the fuselage holes carefully ( a round sanding stick works best for this) to accomodate the bigger tube. This way the tube will be removeable as before, or

c) Remove the tape or shrink from one side of the tube at the end of the day and slide the tube out as per usual. You would then have to re-apply the tape or shrink next time.