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Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

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Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

Old 11-14-2011, 06:10 PM
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retransit
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Default Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

Yeah, I know. What do you mean "after recent rebuild"?

I have this quarter scale Balsa USA Cub that was sitting cozy on my bench after a crash about five years ago (big bench). I got tired of moving things around so I decided to finish it along with the constant prodding of a club member. I got tired of listening to him yabber about it. Five flights after finishing it, I was concentrating on the plane and not on its surroundings during an approach and I clipped a tree with the outer 12 inches of the left wing. Spun that sucker around and made a sickening sound coming down. Luckily, the engine survived (twin O.S. 1.60) with no damage. The fuse broke in half at its weakest point (the cabin) and the inboard bays of the wing halves took a beating, bending the aluminum root tongues. I decided to get right on it so that it wouldn't sit another five years.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 06:19 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

I decided to document the repair as long as one of our young new club members had his phone to snap a few of the sad pictures on the day it happened. At least I was able to show him the down side of the hobby and with luck, a way to turn it around. The first two pictures show the damage and its concentration at the cabin area. The last picture is the guy I'm blaming for this whole fiasco.
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Old 11-14-2011, 06:29 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

The next two pics show the beginning of the repair. It is important to get all the surviving pieces in alignment. I used clamps, weights and an angle finder to make sure the tail feathers weren't twisted when I glued things back together.

I fit some of the balsa wood structure together and later removed and replaced the damaged pieces when I had a solid fuse again. The old balsa sticks were only used to fit everything in its proper place, CA comes in handy here.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 06:36 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

Some club members ask, How can that be repaired? It's not rocket science. One step at a time, one foot in front of the other. Don't dive in and start gluing things together without stepping back and taking a look at the project in order to do it in a logical manner that will allow you to make a great repair and most times no one will even suspect that it had been crashed.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 06:50 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

You want to make sure you gather up all the pieces after the incursion (ground, tree or other) so that you can duplicate the broken pieces if you have an ARF to repair. Kits are easier because you have plans to work with. I am presently working on a Great Planes PT-19 that lost its forward fuselage and I used the mangled structure glued with CA to enable me to trace a pattern of it. This allowed for duplication of the first one-third of the airframe in plywood. The old formers were used as patterns also.

These pictures represent the completion of the fuselage repair. There are some internal pieces that I didn't show, but they just amounted to some bracing holding the servo ply mounting.

The covering was spliced with new pieces and is ready for paint. I used the remaining Nelson Lite Fab that I had and also some new Solartex. You can't tell the difference and unless someone knows different, I think they are the same product.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 07:02 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

This next group of photos show the root rib of one of the wings and its repair. I had to replace the portion of the rib that contained the T-nut for securing the wing to the fuselage cabin. As you can see, a short piece of rib was fashioned and it was made so that it could be placed inside the existing rib. This piece is actually bigger than the hole it is placed in. If you turn it a bit on its side, it can be slid in behind the existing rib and epoxied in place. i used a socket head machine screw placed in the T-nut to allow placement.

Another piece of plywood was cut and inlayed in the rib over the repair.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 07:06 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

The next two pictures show the damage of the left wing root.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 07:09 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

The picture below shows the damage and removal of the broken structure on the left wing.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 07:17 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

This series of pictures show the repairs progressing on the wing including the installation of the original root rib, upper and lower spar repair and trailing edge. Again, everything must be flat on the building board with this type of wing, Other airfoil shapes will have to be shimmed if they are not flat-bottomed.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 07:25 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

I neglected to show how the spars were spliced in the last post. The balsa peices were cut on an angle to give greater gluing area than a typical butt joint. Always use an angle cut for more strength. If you want, you can face each side of the glue joint with thin ply for more strength.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 07:28 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

I placed the Cub on a paint fixture that I made. This fixture allows rotation of the fuselage for painting at the ideal angle. I don't have to reach under the fuselage to paint the bottom.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 07:34 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

The first picture shows what I gave the pilot to ride while fixing the Cub.

The wings were painted using the same fixture. I was able to hide the splice of the fabric repair under the pinking tape (Pink-It) and rib stitching.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 07:44 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

The re-paint allowed me to add something different to the side of the fuse. I obtained paint masks from Dick Tristao at Two Bit Grafix and reproduced the lettering on the side of Greg Kuntz's stunt plane of the Alabama Boys.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 07:48 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

This is the final product. It flies straight, and as is the case for a Cub, has no bad habits.

Bob
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Old 11-14-2011, 09:01 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

Nice work Bob! I think the pilot in post #2 is still in shock from the crash...

Build well!
Ben
Old 11-14-2011, 10:44 PM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

He made that look to easy.. lol
Old 11-15-2011, 06:39 AM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

Looks like you've got everything under control. I think maybe I would try to change pilot as he looks like he has an "attitude !! Enjoy !!!
Old 11-15-2011, 07:08 AM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

Could I suggest a parachute for that dapper pilot?

You have a great sense of humor.

Refreshing to read a thread like this.

Thanks.
Old 11-15-2011, 08:06 AM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

You can't be in this hobby for very long without a sense of humor. It's best to have it at someone else's expense though. On more than a few occasions, through my stupidity, I've provided the laughs at my own expense. I love this hobby!

One of our past club members told me he had to fix a damaged rudder on his Cub. I asked him how he damaged it and he said he started his engine outside his garage and the engine ran backwards and backed into his garage and hit something. Another time I saw him land and walk out to his aircraft to retrieve it, only to start chasing after it as soon as he got to it. It seems the engine was still running, although I couldn't see it from where I was. He freed it from a small hole and it started to fast taxi. He didn't have a method to shut the engine down from his Tx. That would have made a great video.

Bob
Old 11-15-2011, 08:26 AM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

WOW! it is amazing what can be done. Makes me wish I had not thrown out my stearman now after a mid air destroyed the right wings. I have the top and bottom left halfs, and the fusalage mostly intact. I may just try and do something with it still, but I have 3 kits in process now. Thanks for this very well done thread.
Old 11-15-2011, 09:13 AM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

Here is a picture of a PT-19 of mine that was repaired after a mid-air with a Dynaflite PT-19.

Bob
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Old 11-15-2011, 10:07 AM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild


ORIGINAL: retransit

The first picture shows what I gave the pilot to ride while fixing the Cub.

The wings were painted using the same fixture. I was able to hide the splice of the fabric repair under the pinking tape (Pink-It) and rib stitching.

Bob
Is that a Schwin (sp?) Black Phantom he is riding? I had one in 1954. wish I had it now!

Sincerely, Richard
Old 11-15-2011, 10:17 AM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild


ORIGINAL: retransit

I decided to document the repair as long as one of our young new club members had his phone to snap a few of the sad pictures on the day it happened. At least I was able to show him the down side of the hobby and with luck, a way to turn it around. The first two pictures show the damage and its concentration at the cabin area. The last picture is the guy I'm blaming for this whole fiasco.

We received a claim for the DPOA (Dummy Pilots Organization of America) in which one of our members claims that the crash was not his fault at all, but of the other member (the one that had both feet on the ground and a radio in his hands).

This issue will be investigated to the full extent of the law...:-)

Gerry
Old 11-15-2011, 11:25 AM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

I'm appalled by the DPOA statement.

Bob
Old 11-15-2011, 11:27 AM
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Default RE: Cub Repair After Recent Rebuild

Richard.......you're right about the bike. The pedals drive a rubber chain and the spring works.

Bob

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