I apply the "how much is it worth to me, and how much is my time worth" rule at this point.

Not only will you have to get the replacement parts, etc., but you will spend some time rebuilding and re-assembling everything.

Allow at least 2-4 hours for all of this, which includes time to adjust and retrim every control surface, etc.

Factor that into the cost... also the inevitable missing part, that you later find you must order and wait for.


If the damage is not too bad, and I particularly like the plane, I'll go ahead and fix things.

If the damage requires some work, I may just chuck the airframe and put the parts away until at some later point I reuse them on another plane.