Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt water flying  
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> Seaplanes >> Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt water flying
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Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt water... - 12/10/2007 5:32:13 PM   
q8cub


 

Posts: 60
Joined: 12/27/2003
From: kuwait city, KUWAIT
Status: offline 		I haven't been flying continously, but my cub did soak in water few times. Once it flipped on its back on a windy day after a cross-wind landing and it took me about 10-15 minutes to get to it using a small boat.

I am worried that exposure to salty sea water could have weakened the wing joint that is fixed by epoxy.

So, I am wondering whether I should trust the 10 year old epoxy holding it together!

Is there an easy safe way to do a stress test on the wings ?

Thanks in advance!

< Message edited by q8cub -- 12/10/2007 5:43:06 PM >
       Post #: 1

RE: Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt ... - 12/10/2007 7:58:04 PM   
MinnFlyer



Posts: 19353
Joined: 4/22/2002
From: Willmar, MN, USA
Status: offline 		I would be more concerned about what the salt water did to the wood than the epoxy.

Heck, if it's 10 years old, just fly it till the wings fall off. You're due for a new one anyway

_____________________________

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AMA# 42400 www.gettingairborne.com

"Those are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others." - Groucho Marx

(in reply to q8cub)
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RE: Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt ... - 12/10/2007 8:09:29 PM   
q8cub


 

Posts: 60
Joined: 12/27/2003
From: kuwait city, KUWAIT
Status: offline 		Thanks for your reply !

The issue here is not the value of the cub as much as its sentimental value! It has become part of my family culture I had nice memories with it! Plus the safety factor! I do not wish to crash it on someone else beach house because I am flying it from the front of our beach house and there are beach houses on the right and left of us!

I had many other planes which I lost during my long years of this beautiful hobby but this cub occupies a special place! The more years a plane stays in your office/garage, the more sentimental it becomes It is much easier to crash a new plane than to crash an older one imo!

My next project will be a giant clipped wing cub or decathalon on 1/3 scale floats!

I simply fell in love with float flying to the point of wanting to fly on the beach even in winter cold weather

< Message edited by q8cub -- 12/10/2007 8:28:53 PM >

(in reply to MinnFlyer)
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RE: Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt ... - 12/10/2007 10:23:24 PM   
had enough



Posts: 3616
Joined: 1/29/2002
From: From LA to Avon Lake, OH, USA
Status: offline 		Take a Hobby knife or other small pointy objected and poke around at the epoxy,, if it feels soft you have a problem.

I've never heard of salt deteriorating epoxy being an issue, but very few guys fly over salt water

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RE: Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt ... - 12/10/2007 11:47:01 PM   
seemefly_1



Posts: 484
Joined: 9/4/2007
From: Marrietta, GA, USA
Status: offline 		If I were you I would just epoxy it. I won’t hurt to support it more. A streets test will probably be flying. If it fly’s it should be OK but you don’t know how strong it is. Like mini said the wood would be mostly effected not the epoxy.

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RE: Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt ... - 12/13/2007 3:32:05 AM   
Chip_Mull



Posts: 258
Joined: 2/2/2005
From: Granbury, TX, USA
Status: offline 		How about a wing kit? They don't cost much and it would be geat insurance. I have had epoxy soften in model boats after lots of exposure to water.

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RE: Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt ... - 12/14/2007 2:47:28 AM   
Wayne22



Posts: 4305
Joined: 4/10/2002
From: Edmonton, AB, CANADA
Status: offline 		Salt water won't do anything to epoxy..UV light and age will, though...

What I would be concerned with ( and I am surprised that nobody else has mentioned it), is your electronics. Salt water is very corrosive and your reciever and every servo have printed circuit boards in them....

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RE: Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt ... - 12/14/2007 2:38:32 PM   
simhatus


 

Posts: 195
Joined: 12/28/2003
From: england, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline 		Hi

The only way to be sure of not crashing them is not to fly them. keep it as an ornament and use the gear and engine in somthing else.


Simon

(in reply to Wayne22)
       Post #: 8

RE: Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt ... - 12/15/2007 12:00:13 AM   
JimCasey



Posts: 1541
Joined: 3/4/2002
From: Cookeville, TN, USA
Status: offline 		Polyester boat hulls seem to stand up pretty well to continuous exposure to salt water. Your epoxy joints may never have gotten wet, but certainly not in great concentration or for long periods. As somebody else pointed out: If you have a water problem the electronics will tell you, it won't be a wing falling off.

Saw a video of a guy flying a large aerobatic model. He lost a wing, but had the presence of mind to instantly assume knife-edge flight. He brought it down over the runway, rolled it level, and dropped the wheels on the ground. Masterful Piloting!

_____________________________

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http://www.smilesandwags.com/Floats.html

(in reply to simhatus)
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RE: Do I need to re-Epoxy wings after 2 years of salt ... - 6/27/2008 6:57:54 AM   
braddock VC


 

Posts: 23
Joined: 1/26/2004
From: dover, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline 		Polyester boat hulls (full size) can have problems, it's called osmosis. The gel coat cracks and allows water access to the polyester which then, over a significant period of time, allows the water to soak in.
The cure, full size, is to mechanically remove the gelcoat and paint a good quaity epoxy finishing resin over the polyester then two pack paint on a metallic undercoat.
As your plane is unlikely to be stored on water for months at a time then it's unlikely that you will have a problem.
I'd check out the that the glass bandage round the wing does not hang out of the epoxy, this could allow water to wick in and in freezing weather, as water expands as it freezes, this COULD cause the bandage to expand and crack the epoxy.
As long as you have 100% coverage you shouldn't have a problem.
The next thing is what glue did you use to make the plane? If it's water based or even acrilic based you may have a significant problem with joints loosening. Of course salt water is a pain in the butt with any metals especially dis-similar ones like on pcbs or in model engines but you'd notice that straight away.
HTH.

(in reply to JimCasey)
       Post #: 10

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