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Need help restoring.

Old 09-13-2016, 06:37 PM
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lvl16magikarp
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Question Need help restoring.

Hey guys,

Wasn't sure where to look for help for this so I thought i'd start here and hope for some good help. So a few years ago I lost both my grandparents on my mom's side within 2 years. It hit my mom's family pretty hard and as they were going through all their belongings one thing that came up was my grandad's rc plane. He was in the airforce during Korea and my grandma worked at Wright Patt during the same time. But needless to say my Grandad loved planes and had them all over his house. He also worked on model and RC planes. The plane in question is rather large and unfortunately needs a lot of work as he crashed it a long time ago and never got it fully back together. Because of this and the fact that no one else in our family has any true experience with this kinda stuff no one really wanted to claim the plane.

I've always shared the interest of airplanes with my grandad, we would go to various space/aeronautical museums from time to time. So I said I would gladly take it with the plan to restore it and have it fly at a family reunion at sometime in the future to honor both my grandparents. Unfortunately having no real experience in RC planes I'm not sure where to start. I'd like to have it done professionally somewhere so I don't have to worry about mistakes but I am not sure where to get that done or how much it will cost. Attached below is a picture for reference.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Joey

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Old 09-13-2016, 09:28 PM
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skylark-flier
 
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First, congrats on wanting to keep your grandad's legacy going - well done indeed.

Nice plane! Your plan to restore her is a good idea - and what I see in the pic shows it's actually pretty much well along the way. Mainly, the basics to finishing her are engine/motor (fuel/electric - and I recommend electric today), radio & connections (to control her) and the paints necessary to finish her and make her look nice. Finishing her yourself really isn't all that hard. If you've got any experience at all with woodworking, you already have the basic skills. If not, you might actually consider getting an inexpensive stick-kit like this pic:
(Herr Engineering Piper Tri-pacer - sold by SIG Mfg Co) and finishing it to static display status just for practice. If you can build this plane, you can finish your grandfathers plane - the structures are quite similar.

Before anything though, I'd suggest looking up one of your local Academy of Model Aeronautics flying clubs and talking to the guys. They're close to you (2 in your area WITH trainer personnel - PM coming) and you'll get the best advice possible from them. You'll also have the advantage of one-on-one interaction with a lot of experience. One of the first things they'll probably tell you is to get a basic trainer aircraft to learn to fly with - your grandfather's plane is NO KIND OF TRAINER, it looks like it might be a scale model in the pic, and you'll want to know what you're doing before you take her into the air. They'll probably also recommend joining AMA so you can learn to fly with them. Reason for that requirement is insurance, mainly. Model planes, while quite reliable, CAN cause havoc - actually, it's usually the pilot that causes the havoc with the plane. Anyway, membership and the insurance IS a good idea and you should seriously consider it.

There are tons of things to learn - don't get too overwhelmed in the process. Take your time, get it right. The clubs can/will make it fairly easy, and a lot less daunting. Cost: yeah, it's not cheap. But, if you spread the costs over a reasonable length of time it'll be a lot easier to manage. You don't have to go and buy everything at once. I'm not going to throw any kind of number at you here - way too many variables in the mix. I WILL say you're looking at several hundred $$ though. Spread it over a year or so. No rush in any of this.

One other item - and I'm speaking as a grandfather here; you've already demonstrated your closeness to your grandfather. While you definitely COULD find someone in the local club to rebuild/finish the plane, you're going to find a HUGE satisfaction and self-reward by doing it yourself, with help. It'll surely tighten the bond you had with him, and you're very likely to find yourself becoming as much a fan of airplanes as he was - AND THAT'S A GOOD THING!!

I've mentioned a few of the basics. I'm hoping a fair number of others will pop in here to add to it. The more you can absorb, the better your experience will be.
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Old 09-14-2016, 03:32 PM
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lvl16magikarp
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Thanks for the reply and all the info! it does seem like a lot but I will start by contacting a few of the local club guys like you suggested and see what they say. I have a lot of loose parts (engine/engine components and other electrical components) that I'm just not sure if they are still in a workable state. I do feel a bit overwhelmed but ill just take things one step at a time and go from there. I really appreciate all the info you provided.
Old 09-14-2016, 04:20 PM
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JohnBuckner
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For what its worth While do not know of the kit manufacturer is there was one but I can tell your airplane is a scale model of a late forties Monocoupe. It was a bit of a hot rod for its day and carried two people side by side, It was powered by a small radial engine starting at about 90 horse power.

If you goggle monocoupe you will get many hits on the full scale airplanes that yours is intended to represent.

John
Old 09-14-2016, 04:34 PM
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lvl16magikarp
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Thanks for the info! I was wonder what it was modeled after to use as reference! I was also able to find videos of people flying models that I think are the one that I have which was really cool!
Old 09-15-2016, 02:38 AM
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Hey John!!

Joey, you might check through your grandfather's things - or maybe you already have it - find the original instructions, they're on a rather large sheet (or 2). Just to get things started, when you get back to your parents' house, do us a favor and measure the wingspan (tip to tip) and length of the fuselage. Sometimes, just those 2 measurements will lock in who kitted it and when.

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