miniCAP

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Does anybody have any experience repairing fiberglass fuses that have broken in half? Also, can anybody tell me why my YS 110 would progressively be getting worse and worse fuel milage, to the point that I ony got maybe 6 minutes max of flying at half throttle with a 16 oz tank before it ran out of fuel and this happened? It wasn't rich at all, just a little smoke. I'm running 30% CP hmm......

swk550

My Feedback: (76)

You may have had a pin hole leak in the fuel tibing or a leak in the fuel filter. When it was getting worse, did you have good pressure in the fuel tank when you refueled the plane?

miniCAP

My Feedback: (3)

Well, I spoke to Dave at YS tonight and it sounds like it was running too rich. Yup, still had good pressure in the tank and all that jazz. I still can't believe it would burn 16 ounces in less than 6 minutes, but now I know. Thankfully, the engine is alright. I got it all cleaned up and looks good as new. As for the fuse... still don't know if I should attempt to repair it or try to locate a new one.

David Gibbs

Ouch -- Tough luck. I know what it feels like. Looks like you found a muddy patch!

I am sure there are many approaches to rebuilding fibreglass fuses. I have a mishap prone Hydeaway that has been in twice -- once through radio issues, the second through a mid air at a comp. I am lucky in that I am flying it with an OS140 so a little extra weight in the nose from the repair isn't a great issue.

My 2c worth is to take your time and do it bit by bit. Photos below may give you some ideas:
- Thin CA is good to help tack bits together and help lock up minor cracks etc.
- Then fuse jig and balsa sticks on the outside to get it all locked up and straight. If you can't borrow a jig they aren't hard to make.
- Then glass cloth and/or other strengthening on the inside to lock it hold it all together.
- Lots of sanding and filling parties -- using either laminating epoxy and micro-balloons, or polyester car filler (I have used both without issue -- but tend to use epoxy for big filling - verging on structural - and polyester for minor holes). Then a filling primer and paint.

Sounds easy -- just takes time. Hope this gives some ideas.

David

David Gibbs

And it is worth it . . .

miniCAP

My Feedback: (3)

David,

Thanks for the info and the encouragement. It was such a sureal thing when it happened. I think I may actually try to tackle repairing the fuse. Yours turned out great! You can't even tell that it was fixed. Luckily it did hit some rather soft mud, I think that saved a lot of damage. Perhaps I'll post some pictures of the progress if I decide to repair it.

philpop

If your interested in selling the fuzz and buying a new one let me know,
Phil

miniCAP

My Feedback: (3)

Phil,

I decided to hang onto the fuse since it will be a while before CA models could get me another. I also thought it would be a fun challenge to see if it could be fixed. So, I took David's advice and have proceeded to work on it. First I took all the old stuff out of it, all except the wing tube section and firewall. I'm going to make all new wood parts for it. These pictures show it after I cleaned all the edges with solvent and sanded the inside of the fuse so that the fiberglass would adhere better.

miniCAP

My Feedback: (3)

After all the edges were clean, I proceeded to put the puzzle back together. This took two people and some thin CA. Luckily, the break was quite clean and so it was easy to see where the two halves should line up. The pictures show it after all of it had been CA'd. It was actually very strong like that. I could hold it by one end and move it around and the other end didn't even budge. So that was encouraging. Then I put it in a fuse jig and made sure it was straight, and it was very close. I got so excited fixing it that I forgot to take any pictures of it. Anywho, once it was all straight in the jig, I then used sticks of balsa which were CA'd the the outside of the fuse. This didn't keep it in line so much as it helped to pull the few dents out to the right contour. Then, I used 6 oz fiberglass cloth on the inside. Should be able to work on it some more either today or tomorrow.

Ryan Smith

My Feedback: (25)

Sorry to go off topic here, but...

David what type of spinner is that on your Hydeaway?

OK, back on topic...

Both airplanes look good David and miniCap. I'm glad that you could piece it back together. I've been thinking about getting a Zafiro, but cutting new wings and stab that are a little thinner. Does the fuse have the stab slot cut out already, or is that up to the builder? Thanks alot.

miniCAP

My Feedback: (3)

Ryan,

The answer to the stab question is yes and no. It has an indention in the fuse where you are suppose to cut out for the stab but it is still solid with the fuse. So, you could easily just cut the slot thinner for a thinner horizontal stab and fill the void with some light filler. I would think a Zafiro with thinner wings would be pretty cool.

Here's a picture of it all braced and fiberglassed on the inside. Dave, how heavy of glass did you use on the exterior? I was thinking of using 2 oz, does that sound about right? Or if anyone else has any suggestions, I'm open. Until then, the sanding shall begin!

David Gibbs

Ryan,

It is a TY1 spinner -- machined aluminium backplate and (I think) plastic cone attached with 4 screws. Tough/durable and F3A suitable (it has done a hundred + flights and the cone has survived two nose in incidents!)

I am honestly not sure of where they are made. I think Chris White distributes them in Australia through LHSs, but I am not sure where he sources them. Only reference I can find to some of the range in the US is:

http://www.nesail.com/categories.php?subcatID=44

I will check, but I don't think they are available bigger than 75mm. I also think nesail have used the same photo of a smaller one for all sizes -- the 75mm one on Hydeaway certainly has four hold down screws.

David

Erik Johansson

I found this link in a Swedish webshop selling the TY1 spinners:

http://www.ty1.com.tw

They actually list an 82mm version and so does one of the Swedish retailers.
/Erik

David Gibbs

Hey miniCap,

Awesome job. You have done a very nice job of cleaning it up and getting it back together. Hang in there and it will soon be as good as new! If your experience was the same as mine you start with great trepidation (and a view that it still may be a basket job!) but clean it up slowly, begin to tack it together bit by bit, and after an hour or so it begins to look like a plane -- and soon you wonder why you almost thought about not repairing it!!

On the Hydeaway, I didn't put cloth on the outside. Once I had the cloth on the inside I dug around with the tip of a knife on the outside to remove any loose (or potentially loose) chips in the original gel coat, and gouged out a few of the hairline cracks I had (on the nose impact there were quite a few of those). Then I filled it with laminating epoxy and micro-balloons -- and taped some heavier plastic document folders over it to force it into a reasonably smooth layer. I figured that would get into the gaps/holes and didn't leave me with the problem of having to sand down a outer cloth layer. The sanding on the sides of the fuse where yours broke will be a little harder to get smooth without sanding through the gel coat in place -- unfortunately only a big sanding block, a mix of 120 to 240 papers, and much patience will get you through that!!

And then I tested the repair. Crash 1 was radio going into failsafe on downwind for landing and it cruised into the ground on low throttle doing the damage you see in the three shots of the nose repair! 25 flights after I repaired it it had a mid air at a comp. that ripped off the right wing and sent it spiralling into a (dry) swamp. This time it broke right through the wing tube area -- but the nose I had prevoiusly repaired came out almost in tact!! (and this is the repair I was doing in the fuse jig photo above).

Keep up the good work!

David

miniCAP

My Feedback: (3)

Well, it's done... almost. The fuse is back from the paint booth and I think it turned out pretty good. I have to go about putting all the radio gear back in and then it should be as good as new. It's very hard to tell where it broke. For people that never saw it before, they will never be able to tell where the break was. I'm confident that it will fly just fine. Thanks to Dave for all the advice on how to fix it. I'll post a reply after it flies again. Juat gotta wait for decent weather now.

kepople

Beautiful.

What kind of paint did you use?

kirby

David Gibbs

miniCap,

That is a great job -- isn't it good how you get from a 'towel job' wreck you are thinking about throwing away to an almost perfect model.

Did you take any weights to see how much you have added to overall weight!

Well done

David

deweyd

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minicap
Nice job on that repair!! I have a Zarfiro and I enjoy flying the plane it is smooth and very stable. if something happens to mine I know where to go for some advice.. you and dave.. Dewey

miniCAP

My Feedback: (3)

Thanks guys for the compliments. I used PPG paint. I haven't had a chance to weigh it. I'm almost positive that it ended up gaining some weight. It's sort of one of those things that I just don't want to know the answer to. The good new is that the YS pulls it without any trouble at all, so no suffering there. Still, lighter would land better and all that jazz. Anywho, just glad to have it almost back in the air. Most likely will have it done this weekend. One thing is for sure, grad school definitely is getting in the way of my flying!

smchale

My Feedback: (67)

Looks great minicap!! Going to have to rename it the 'phoenix'! (...a mythological bird rising renewed from the ashes!)