Matgray86

Hi.

If if anyone could spare some time and advice I'd be very great full.

A little while ago my partners grandfather gave our son one of his first ever planes he built that has seen better days. He wasn't very well at the time and my son accepted the plane as a gift.

Sadly he has since passed and I've said to my son and partner I'd like to refurb it to its former glory in memory of her grandfather.

This is where I plead for help.... I've never built a plane before. I'm very good with my hands and woodworking etc. I'd like to keep it as original as possible and will be hopefully using his motors etc.

As as you can see from the pictures the body is not in the best condition. How do I repair the bulk of the body as this seems to have started to crack and very thin. How do I re make the rear flaps and fix in the little hinges.

Basically i need to give the plane a full referb.

again please excuse my lack of knowledge as I've net done this Before.

Many thanks matt

red head

Matt : I'm not going to try to tell ya any of the things to do to the plane right now, but I am going to suggest that you find out if there is a club close to you. By the way where are you ? That might help. By finding a club you can find someone that more then likely would enjoy helping you ( at Least ) get the plane refurbished to the point that you could hang it for display ( which sounds like what yo want .
What ever you do, DON'T reject the fact that there are folks in the clubs that would be Happy to help you with your plane, and if you try it without some one that has a good line on repairs, it could be a mistake.
Take the time to find a willing helping hand . WHERE ARE YOU ??? ENJOY !!! RED

Matgray86

Thanks for the reply. I live in the U.K. - Essex. To be honest I never even thought of a local club as this is so new to me the first thing I done was google a forum to get advice just like that. Your right I don't plan on flying the plane... to be honest I wouldn't have the guts due to the centennial value, but would like to complete it to a point it's ready so I know it's 100%

SwampFlier-RCU

Mat, you could also post a Message on the kit builders forum a few forums down, there are lots s of people that could help identifying the model and giving you tips.
The club visit suggested is also a good one.
Regards,
Patrick

Matgray86

Hi, thanks I'll have a look. I'm not sure if it's a particular model or something his built of the top of his head. But any tips will be great. Thanks matt

TomCrump

Your model is certainly repairable, but I feel that some expertise will be required.

As suggested above, I feel that you should locate a local club and seek assistance from a local model builder.

init4fun

Hi Matgray86 ,

All of the suggestions of seeking knowledgeable help are 100% right on target and my suggestion beyond that would be that if your going to do the work yourself , get a couple of inexpensive small wood kits of model airplanes and put those together first to get the feel for how to do the wood and cosmetic work . If you have access to the servos , motor or engine and all the other required running gear then great , by all means I'd restore it mechanically too . But if you would be buying the parts and then never flying it due to it's heirloom status then I'd work strictly on the cosmetic and forgo the mechanical and display it minus the expensive but unseen bits like servos , receiver , ESC for motor / fuel tank for engine , and so on . Yes of course I'd mount the propeller with a cowl to look like an actual motor/engine were in there but it would be done as a static display . I just figure for something that's never gonna fly , even if using kinda cheap parts it would be the better side of $100 to mechanically outfit it , I'd go tribute static display model only with it and put the running gear into something that's gonna fly . Finished as a static display only model would also insure no one else would try to fly it too , thus greatly expanding it's possibility for lasting some time rather than risking being crashed .

bikerbc

Its difficult to say for sure but it looks to be like it has been in moist area and has dry rot . Its possible that it may never be safe to fly . Fixing it as a static display model might be the best thing you can do . Being good at woodworking you should be able to compare the wood in the plane to some new stuff and see what you think . If the wood is not punky and the ply is still solid then maybe you could refurb it . You will need to re glue all the old glue joints as best you can . CA works okay for this . It looks like you have throttle rudder and elevator only . I would build a new elevator as well as your rudder and rehinge them with hinge points . The windows are just flat plastic and will probably come out fairly easy and will provide good patterns for new windows . Good luck and have fun .

bikerbc

Its difficult to say for sure but it looks to be like it has been in moist area and has dry rot . Its possible that it may never be safe to fly . Fixing it as a static display model might be the best thing you can do . Being good at woodworking you should be able to compare the wood in the plane to some new stuff and see what you think . If the wood is not punky and the ply is still solid then maybe you could refurb it . You will need to re glue all the old glue joints as best you can . CA works okay for this . It looks like you have throttle  rudder and elevator only . I would build a new elevator as well as your rudder and rehinge them with hinge points . The windows are just flat plastic and will probably come out fairly easy and will provide good patterns for new windows . Good luck and have fun .

GallopingGhostler

Hello, Matt. Just a casual look at the photos, it appears to be very dusty from lengthy storage in a shed or unconditioned attic. The balsa probably is still good, just needs a really thorough cleaning. I'd first carefully vacuum the fuselage and tail feathers with a soft brush attachment. This will remove the loose dust from the wood surfaces. Then lightly sand with 320 or 400 grit.

You may be able to clean the windows first carefully inside and out. Then use a plastic cleaner for automotive clear plastic headlight lenses (Meguiar's PlastX in US) to remove the window fog from the outside surfaces. The bare wood can be covered in a modern plastic film or painted. Product availability may differ in UK from US. If paint, I would use one or two coats of MinWax Polycrylic water based acrylic varnish with light sanding between coats, then spray "rattle can" Rustoleum Gloss Protective Enamel (reasonably fuel proof after curing). Cowling around engine can be made from several pieces of balsa or foam block, done in the old style like the planes of the 1950's, 1960's.

Red head's suggestion is excellent. Your best bet would be to seek out a model aeroplane club close to you, show them what you have. The experienced members then can help with advice, may be even provide hands on instruction to help you place this aircraft into flying order. The fact you are handy with your hands helps, and the experienced modellers can point the way.

Good luck.

TomCrump

I agree that the wood needs a good cleaning. Usually, the wood is in good shape underneath.

I've blown the dirt off of a couplle "oldre" airframes, and after a light sanding the wood usually looks like fresh balsa.

buzzard bait

I love it! If I didn't live a few thousand miles away I'd come over and help you myself. But to get this flying, you or your son need to have some real interest and persistence, as well as some experienced help. It's a wonderful hobby, but people who try to dabble in it don't get very far. I'm not trying to put you off, just agreeing with people above that you would need to be part of a club, get some help and decide it was something you wanted to get involved in for awhile. Construction or re-construction, covering, radio installation, control surface linkage, engine rehab, starting, adjusting, and finally flying are all skills you can learn...but you have to want to! I hope you do it and enjoy it.

jester_s1

Since you plan for it to be a display model and not a flier,, the job isn't going to be bad at all. It looks like the wood has some mold or dry rot, so hit with some bleach to make sure that's not going to come back later to haunt you. Those cracks are from the wood contracting due to drying out. If you flow some thin CA glue into the cracks and then hold them together for a minute while the glue hardens, that will give you a permanent fix. You don't have to make it picture perfect, just structurally sound. I do that on planes I plan to fly again, so it will definitely be adequate for yours. Kill the mold, glue up the cracks, and cover it with Monokote or Ultracote. I think Ultracote is easier to work with, but some like Monokote better. Don't paint the bare wood. It can work out fine to do that on new planes, but it adds no strength and will look terrible on that old cracked wood. Rehinging the control surfaces will depend a lot on how they were hinged the first time. If they had pinned hinges (AKA, epoxy hinges), you can put a new hinge in the old slot and glue it. If it had CA hinges (a fabric material similar to felt) you'll need to cut them flush and make new slots with a hobby knife.
Once you are done with that, it will be up to you how complete to make it. Cowls can be made either with carved balsa or fiberglass. There are lots of tutorials here and on Youtube for how to do both. Then you'll install pushrods and servos and either mount a real engine or dowel inside the cowl to hold the prop for display.

j.duncker

My Feedback: (2)

Consider making the cowl from urethane foam, often used for insulation and comes in colors. In the UK usually blue.

Stick layers together if needed. Carve with a breadknife then sand to final shape. Cover with brown paper applied with diluted PVA glue. Two or three extra coats of dilute PVA, sand smooth with W/D then paint.