ORIGINAL: Kevin Greene
Both of the Tangos that went in were admitted pilot error by the pilots.[&o] It happens to the best of them....
As far as the rebuild goes, from what I understand Dave is an experienced builder and as said in another post Todd will give it a good once over.
The only thing that I would have liked to have seen Dave do differently was the repair of the tears in the fiberglass. In addition to using CA, milled fiber should have been used too. You tack the tear with CA in a few places to hold everything together then you take pinches of milled fiber and work it into the tear. Then, use thin CA to permanently bond everything together. Work your way around the plane in the same manner.
This is much stronger than CA alone as the milled fiber helps to scab together the two torn parts. Also, this will help to prevent the final painted surface from cracking in the torn area as the milled fiber makes the repair stay stable. I learned this technique from Mr. BV himself...[8D]
Properly repaired this model should be as strong as new....Then the only concern will be weight.
Kevin
Actually,
I have found a better way of filling these cracks and voids on a damaged fuse like this. Mix up some west systems epoxy thorughly, then add cabosil to the epoxy till you get a butter like consistency. Spread the cabosil/epoxy mixture over the areas you wish to fill with a playing card/credit card and let it cure for 24 hours. Once cured you can sand the areas flush. This not only fills the cracks/voids but strengthens the area as well. I have found this procedure to be stronger than the CA/Milled fiber process and much easier to sand to a feathered edge. No bondo/fillers needed....
Todd