Does anybody have any idea how I might be able to repair a styrofoam wing? I bought a trainer that had a styrofoam wing and I kinda crashed. I didn't do alot of damage just a little, but I tried to fly it after I crashed and well when I got my plane in the air it started to go in the direction of the gash that is out of the wing. I was thinking about some triple expanding form. But does anybody have any other ideas?

Foam wings are easy to repair however nobody is going to be able to make specific suggestions without at least a photo. Also its important to know a bit about the wing, for instance: Is it a plain moulded foam wing with just perhaps spanwise packing tape or a covering film? Is it a sheeted wing with balsa, ply or obechi skins?


John

It is a moulded foam wing. The only balsa that is there is just to hold the 2 wing halves together, and then it is just a thin balsa strip that one slids into the other.

I borrowed my moms digital camara, and I shot a couple of pics with it. But I didn't look to see what kind of card she has in it. I just assumed that it was a compact flash card, and guess what? it wasn't. So I will go back over to her house and d/l there and upload it to here later. My digital camara is at work so I can't use my. But that is what I get for assumeing...You know what happens when you assume.

You might be able to save youself the trouble by telling us what model the plane is.

GWS Slow Stick or Aerobird type, or is it a glow powered plane?
Dennis-

The plane is called a warbird. It is one I picked up at my local hobby store. It is an electric. I got it pretty cheap. Came with everything that I needed. I've never flown before, and didn't want to spend alot of money on something that I was gonna crash....LoL.

cover both halves of the broken wing with 30 min epoxy, put together and secure the wing halves. wipe off the excess epoxy that oozed out with rubbing alcohol. wipe it again just for good measure. if epoxy didn't ooze out, you didn't use enough.

Okay.

If it's a foam wing with an actual airfoil (like the one in my diagram), then I would cut out a square chunk from the existing wing (as marked in red), then epoxy in a plug cut from other foam. (It doesn't have to be the same type of foam.)
Dennis-

there ws a great slip of paper i had that showed you how to repair these things. yes, cut the piece out. then rough cut a square piece to fit into the hole. cutting styrofoam will sometimes make it crumble, so you can sand it down with a rough paper. 220 sands styrofoam really well. it will not crumble.

For foam repairs (and I do a lot of them), I mostly use ProBond Polyurathane glue. You can get it at the local hardware store. Gorillia glue is the same stuff.

It's advantage when working with foam is that you put glue on one part, and mist the other with water. put them together and hold with tape. The glue will foam up and fill in any voids and places where the joint isn't quite there. And it's a lot lighter than epoxy for this kind of thing.

The actual technique of cutting out a block and filling it in with scrap is right on. I usually cut a trapazoid instead of a square though. Just makes it easier to work with.

Depending on the damage, you may not need to more than just tape over it though. It depends on the type of foam and the type of construction of the plane, so I really need more information.

On the other hand, when something on my GWS A-10 breaks, I usually use foam safe CA, as it's lighter and makes less of a mess, and is plenty strong for the light weight white foam.

how are those things? i have been drooling over one but don't really have the dough