GWS Tiger Moth Motor Mount Broke!
 

Well I just flew my tiger moth for the first time yesterday. The conditions were perfect. Zero wind and low sun in a high grass field. Unfortunately the elevator trim was a bit off and upon launch it went into a series of stalls nothing higher than 20 feet, but eventually it hit the ground. After 2 crashes I noticed the motor was angled slightly down. Apon further inspection the motor mount "stick" had broken! This was on the second flight! Now I cannot get this "mounting stick" out because it is glued into the fuselage. What can i do? Why would this be made of balsa wood and not hard plastic? Right now 3 nights of construction are wasted along with my Tiger Moth. How disappointing considering it seemed to fly well, for a short time anyway. Anyone have an suggestions??

-Jason

GWS Tiger Moth Motor Mount Broke!
 

Jason, your motor mount problem is a common one, and also easily fixed. You can cut the old one out CAREFULLY, and install a new one made of spruce or basswood...don't worry if it is a bit over-sized, just carefully sand it down to fit in the motor.

My tiger moth has been broken MANY times...the final time I hit powerlines and the fuse snapped in three places... :p . Go to http://www.ezonemag.com/, go to the forum and do a search on "Tiger Moth"...expect to spend most of a day reading about mods and fixes for it. I strongly suggest you do the flying wire mod...works great... :D.

Your TM is a great little plane, just spend some time reading up on it and do some of the mods, and it will last quite awhile. BTW, Probond polyerathane glue is great for glueing foam...squirt some on a piece of cardboard and mix a little water with it, it will foam up and fill in gaps, etc.

Also, a 7-cell NiMh battery pack will add a lot of power, and it weighs half as much as a standard GWS battery...you can get them at aeromicro.com . Also, I seen your post about the Pico Stick/Slow Stick...I'd take the $$$ and fix up the TM before I'd spend it on one of them.

Good Luck...:)!

Bob

GWS Tiger Moth Motor Mount Broke!
 

One reason the motor mount is made from wood is because it is better to break the mount (cheaper) than it is to break a gearbox. I broke the mount on my pico stick Fuse and all I did was take a small screwdriver and carefully just pick out the pieces of the broken stick. But then I was not so woried as to making the hole a little bigger because I switched the IPS motor to a EPS motor and it takes a bigger mount anyway.

If you do use the IPS mount (smaller stick) and the hole is a little to big all you have to do is use a glue that is expandable. I used a product called Gorilla glue. Just put a few drops in put in the mount and it will expand to fill in any gaps caused by digging out the mount.

By the way when you replace it use something like spruce or basswood. Dont use balsa it is way to soft.

Hope this helps.

GWS Tiger Moth Motor Mount Broke!
 

All is not lost. Don't toss the entire plane for want of a motor mount. Broken motor mounts are common, and as was mentioned before, if they were made out of something tougher, something else would break.

If the break is fairly ragged and fits together well, you may be able to simply glue the stick back together. A little dab of medium CA or wood glue, then press the stick pieces back together, and it's as good as new! Just don't let CA get on the foam. CA melts foam.

GWS Tiger Moth Motor Mount Broke!
 

Thanks everyone for all of your help. I will try to repair the plane tonight.

BTW, mefly2. What kind of knife would you use to cut it out My hobby knife only cuts about 1" into the fuse, but I believe the motor mount is atleast 2" deep.

Thanks again for all of your help.

-Jason

GWS Tiger Moth Motor Mount Broke!
 

Yeah, your probably going to have to dig a bit with a screwdriver or something on that order.

I forgot about putting it back together like mkirsh said...I've done that to. If the pieces fit back together decent, CA will do a good job...just make sure it is straight...:).

Bob