Q-51: This may be a minor point ,but a friend told me that I should quickly discard wing hold-down rubber bands after every flying session. In other words, always use new rubber bands each time I go to fly. Is that really necessary?
A-51: When using a glow-fueled engine, the fuel residue from the exhaust can quickly deteriorate the rubber bands used to hold your wing to the fuselage. For this reason you would always be wise to discard these grease-soaked rubber bands after every flight session.
Little known to most modelers is the fact that rubber bands simply exposed to ordinarily sunlight will also deteriorate at a very fast rate. Apparently the ultraviolet rays from the sun cause this problem. That being the case, any rubber bands used to hold down the wings on any type of model, whether it is electric powered, rubber powered, a sailplane, or whatever, it is still a good idea not to reuse them. By the way, one of the least expensive ways to purchase rubber bands is from one of the large, nationwide stationery supply companies such as Staples or Office Max. I generally use No. 64 for the larger models and No. 33 size for parking lot and indoor models.