Hanger 9 CWC Conversion
03-23-2002, 05:27 PM
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Hanger 9 CWC Conversion
Hanger 9 80” Cub CWC Conversion
The Hanger 9 Cub (80 1/8” span listed as 40 sized) was a plane I flew for about 5 years. While a good flier, and very “Cub like,” I got a little bored with its limited aerobatic ability and decided to convert it to a clipped wing version. After studying the full sized CWC versions, I decided to decrease the span to about 86% of the original. Not wanting to fiddle with rebuilding the center section or chopping the ailerons to pieces and rebuilding the tips, I decided to cut bays and epoxy spar joiners to the tips and center sections. At first I felt like a Civil War surgeon with my Xacto saw, but figured that I may as well go for it.
First I removed the covering with a heat gun by just leading my hand, and for the most part it came of easily. There were a couple of spots I had to sand a bit since the covering had been on so long. After the covering was off, I simply cut two bays off each wing, starting at the “end” of the sheeted center section. Some flat sanding of the center section and the remaining wing panels was needed to achieve a tight match, but this was no real chore since the Cub’s wing is a fairly constant shape. When you get to this point, you will see the spars, and I’m sure it will be apparent how to join them. I used 30 min epoxy to join the halves, and made 6” spar reinforcement joiners out of light ply. Just for safety’s sake, I wrapped the joint with lightweight (1oz) fiberglass cloth and coated it with thin CA. Epoxy would work equally well, but would probably require some finishing sanding with a fine grit.
After the wing was dry, I recovered it with Cub yellow Ultracoat and my 69” CWC wing was ready without any mods to the center section or ailerons at all.
Flying
At the field, I was a little apprehensive, since a friend told me that the plane would now need to be landed much hotter, and the roll rate on aerobatics would be very quick. He was right about the latter, but the CWC landed almost a softly as ever and was still very docile. Now it does the Sportsman pattern with ease, still flat turns great, and even will do some pretty neat snap maneuvers! I fly it with a Saito 91, but a 56 four stroke or hot 46 2 stroke would work well too. I am never sorry for the conversion, as the Cub is still patterned after the full sized CWC, and it is a real pleasure to fly! After 6 months of flying the plane, I feel very confident in the strength and integrity of the wing joint. Good luck, and have fun.
The Hanger 9 Cub (80 1/8” span listed as 40 sized) was a plane I flew for about 5 years. While a good flier, and very “Cub like,” I got a little bored with its limited aerobatic ability and decided to convert it to a clipped wing version. After studying the full sized CWC versions, I decided to decrease the span to about 86% of the original. Not wanting to fiddle with rebuilding the center section or chopping the ailerons to pieces and rebuilding the tips, I decided to cut bays and epoxy spar joiners to the tips and center sections. At first I felt like a Civil War surgeon with my Xacto saw, but figured that I may as well go for it.
First I removed the covering with a heat gun by just leading my hand, and for the most part it came of easily. There were a couple of spots I had to sand a bit since the covering had been on so long. After the covering was off, I simply cut two bays off each wing, starting at the “end” of the sheeted center section. Some flat sanding of the center section and the remaining wing panels was needed to achieve a tight match, but this was no real chore since the Cub’s wing is a fairly constant shape. When you get to this point, you will see the spars, and I’m sure it will be apparent how to join them. I used 30 min epoxy to join the halves, and made 6” spar reinforcement joiners out of light ply. Just for safety’s sake, I wrapped the joint with lightweight (1oz) fiberglass cloth and coated it with thin CA. Epoxy would work equally well, but would probably require some finishing sanding with a fine grit.
After the wing was dry, I recovered it with Cub yellow Ultracoat and my 69” CWC wing was ready without any mods to the center section or ailerons at all.
Flying
At the field, I was a little apprehensive, since a friend told me that the plane would now need to be landed much hotter, and the roll rate on aerobatics would be very quick. He was right about the latter, but the CWC landed almost a softly as ever and was still very docile. Now it does the Sportsman pattern with ease, still flat turns great, and even will do some pretty neat snap maneuvers! I fly it with a Saito 91, but a 56 four stroke or hot 46 2 stroke would work well too. I am never sorry for the conversion, as the Cub is still patterned after the full sized CWC, and it is a real pleasure to fly! After 6 months of flying the plane, I feel very confident in the strength and integrity of the wing joint. Good luck, and have fun.
