ma_mulcahy

Took my Sensei out today, got caught low and slow, downwind wing stalled and she came down on the nose adding another 10 degrees down thrust. I'm going to cut the cowl off at the seam and fix it but I am wondering what I should use to reglue the cowl to the fuselage. Anybody have any suggestions on adhesives?

Thanks!

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Did you get your repair done? What glue did you use?

ma_mulcahy

I used RC56 canopy glue. Worked well.

ma_mulcahy

Well, I did it again! Bent up the motor mount. Gotta land on the wheels and not the nose!

In repeating this repair, I made some observations:
1) RC56 is a great glue on the foam. It stays pliable after it sets up.
2) Do a trial fit of the cowl with the spinner back plate attached to insure you have the same amount of clearance between the back plate and the cowl. If not, bend the motor mount until you do. This should keep the factory down and side thrust intact.
3) Use blue thread locker on the motor mount screws. It's hard to get those screws tight without stripping them. When I removed them the second time, they were not as tight as I would have liked.
4) Take your time with a hobby knife and a putty knife to separate the cowl. Your patience will be rewarded with a barely noticeable repair.
5) Have fun! That's what we're here for!

lobohart

slide an artists knife which is long and flexible under the top of the cowl and you can separate the cowl, go real easy.

frenchstan

On cowl removal/repair: Use a thin metal or hard plastic with a 90 degree bend. The bend should be about 3/8" long. (For those of you familiar with desktop computers, the "card" cover plates work well as cowl removers.) When I put the cowl back on, I just use white electrical tape and tape the cowl to the fuselage. Holds well and comes off easily the next time.