I have only built three planes from kits so far. I recently crashed my Sig 4-Star three times. The first two times damaged the wing in two places with only the spars broken. That was an easy fix.
However, this last time I also had two ribs broken along with those spars. One was complentely crushed away from two or three spares in the front. My question is "is it possible to fix this rib area, or should I give up the ghost? I toyed with the idea of copying the first two or three inches of the front ribs from the drawings and gluing it slightly to the side of the back rib. I don't really know if that is a bad/good idea or not. Also toyed with the idea of simply forgetting the ribs replacement and just redoing the spars and putting on the film covering. Don't know it that is a dumb/good idea either.
I did call the Sig company and found out that a wing kit could be purchased for $60. Owww, that's pretty steep to me!
So how about any suggestions from you guys who really have a lot of rebuilding experiences?

Yes, you can fix the ribs. Usually what I do is make a new rib (either tracing the rib from the plan or just fitting in a new rib and cutting/sanding to shape). You need to rib(s) in place, the spar needs it as it support. If you just try to cover the spar, it might flex in flight. This type of fix is pretty easy, just take your time to ensure that everything is the same size. Thickness of the balsa rib is usually not an issue.

Thank you for the reply. Believe me, that is quite encouraging to me. I will now give it a try.

Yes, you can repair the ribs. Here's a little info about the parts of the wing and their purpose. The main part of the wing that you need to pay the most attention to are the spars. They are the main structural component in the wing, so if you need to repair these make sure that the repairs are done well and have plenty of strength.

Also pay very close attention to any shear webbing between the top and bottom spars. They are also a critical load bearing structure. If the shear webs are cracked you need to make sure to repair them. If you can it's probably easiest to just cut out the damaged one and fabricate a new webbing, just pay attention the direction of the wood grain because this is what gives it strength. The grain of shear webbing normally runs vertically.

Now to the ribs. The main purpose of the ribs is to maintain the shape of the airfoil of the wing. For the most part they are not a load bearing structure. So doing what you said above is a way to repair the ribs. Just as long as it maintains it's original shape you will be fine.

Hope this helps

Ken

Thank you, once again I have just learned something that is important. This info is great!

Whenever I build anything from a kit (which I do a LOT), I trace the parts onto drafting paper, then roll that up with the plans when I'm done. It only takes a few minutes to do, but if I should ever need to replace a rib, former, etc., then I have the outline immediately and easily available.

Something to think about for your next kit perhaps...