jollyroger

My Feedback: (6)

I acquired one of these from a friend who had a bad time of it trying to land it. The bottom wing snapped out from the center about 10" or 12 " and the Cabanes were broken.
After removing the fabric covering I inspected the two wing sections and made needed repairs. Now I need some advice as to reattaching the two wing sections back together. I use West Systems epoxy for this types of repair as it provides a long open time and it cures very strong. Would it be prudent to add some reinforcement to the repair such as some CF either in a cloth strip or hard strip?
I also need to replace the cabanes as the forward pieces are missing. If someone has one of these Tiggies, would it be possible to trace a pattern of the cabanes? Or if you have a totaled out TM and the cabanes are ok, I would pay for them. As for replacement fabric I may have to call Kyosho America for info as to what brand of covering they used. I may also just strip off all the old fabric and use Ultrcote.
The cowl is missing but I can get one from Fiberglass Specialties. It would be a shame to let this model rot away without some effort to bring it back to flyability. Thank you

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

Some pictures would help in suggestions, but get ready to get about a dozen different answers on how to fix it, it's all about personal preferences. Some do as little reinforcing as possible, some build it tougher than a battleship. I just try to put it back to OEM, except if it failed because it's a weak design, then I reinforce just enough to make it live, not survive a crash.

jollyroger

My Feedback: (6)

What I ended up doing was to refit the two wing sections back to OEM and having to sand as little as possible to achieve this as some of the wing spars ends were rather jagged and posed a difficult task of re attachment unless some of the uneven edges were not sanded away. After several trial fittings, I was able to bring the two pieces back together in as accurate manner as possible. Mixing up an ounce of West Systems epoxy I then wetted out where the sections came together. I then mixed in some 204 adhesive filler to the rest of the epoxy and applied it to the surfaces to be joined. The two wing sections were then brought together and clamped. The excess epoxy/filler was cleaned with denatured alcohol and then allowed to cure for 36 hours. After curing, I cut 2" strips of CF that would be used to "tie in" the two wing spars on both top and bottom wing surfaces. I used 30 minute epoxy for this and also lightly clamped the CF to the spars cleaning any squeeze out. After 12 hours curing I removed the clamps, stips of clamping wood and wax paper to reveal a smooth and almost undetectable reinforcement to the wings. The CF strips were thin enough that after covering they probably won't be noticed unless under close examination .
Using a good grade of epoxy is essential here as most hobby brands are not up to the task as far as I'm concerned when it comes to this type of repair. I use West Systems wherever I feel the extra strength can be used and have never been dissapointed with the results.
My next challenge is to obtain either a set of cabanes or an accurate outline.
cheers