LT-40 Rebuild.
 

I've been flying this LT-40 for about six months when the radio stop working. The plane went in from about 200' in a shallow dive, ripped the LG off and knocked the firewall loose. When I opened it up I found I had not tighten the screw in the fuel tank lid. For the last six months I've been soaking the inside of the plane with fuel, it finally made it to the Rx and caused the crash. I hate working on fuel soaked anything, wood or covering, but I love the plane so this is what I did:

I sanded the wood to remove any paint or oily wood.
Installed 3/32" balsa on both sides of the fuse, on the inside.
Installed new 3/32" lite ply from the firewall back to the first bulkhead.
Made and installed a new firewall.
Made a ply doubler plate for the main gear attachment points.
I use 3/4 quarter stock behind the firewall, the ply floor, anf the LG mounting plate.
I decided to add some 1/16 balsa to floor the engine compartment for looks.

RE: LT-40 Rebuild.
 

likely too late now, but K2R works great to soak up oil from soaked wood. Spray it on, let it dry and then brush it off with the oil, May take more than one application. Good luck.

Richard/Sig Kadet Brotherhood #96: Kadet, Kadet Jr, 1/4 Cub (Koveral), Kougar; Club Saito #635: FA100,120, 130t, 180.

RE: LT-40 Rebuild.
 

It might be worth following this thread. I just inherited a LT-40 for my Club. I volunteered to rebuild it and turn it into a Club trainer.

I have heard that acetone is good for wicking the oil out of the wood (but have not tried it) and have had mixed results with putting the nose into cat litter to absorb the oil.

Just my $.02

Bob

RE: LT-40 Rebuild.
 

I did the kitty litter thing once with mix results and the K2R which is expensive, but works slightly better than kitty litter and is quicker. I found that the best thing to do is sand the surface which has most the oil in it, then lay on some alcohol. Put paper towels on the wood then iron it with a very hot household iron. That removes a lot of oil quickly, just repeat until you don't get much oil anymore. What would work well is a oil based glue, but I don't know of any.[:@]

I just found it easier to sand the insides, then flood the raised areas with 10 second CA, and drop on a piece of wood. If it delaminates in the coming months I'll report it back here.