Hello,

I am a noob and have 4 broken wing ribs, 1 has completly failed and 3 are cracked the plane is an alpha 40 rtf. the damaged is only believed to be on the top of the wing. The damage is basically right in the center between the leading and trailing edge of the plane. It is coted in white ultracot.

All this being said, how d i fix it? i have no tools no ultracot and no Ca. but i do want to learn how to fix things like that because im sure it will happen again.

thank you very much for all your help it will be greratly appreciated

You will need to remove the covering from the affected area. Clean the are well first to remove any fuel/oil. Then cut away the covering to a point approx 1/4 inch short of the first GOOD rib and fore/aft to the leading edge and rear spar/trainling edge. Oh, before you do this try to iron the covering down tight to the edges you will be cutting near. The ribs that are merely cracked might be repaired by pushing the pieces back into place and addind a few drops of thin CA to rebond the structure. Be sure the rib is still well attached to the leading/trailing edges and spars too.
For any destroyed ribs, use an existing rib that is in good condition to make a pattern (paper is good) and transfer this to correct size balsa for a new rib. This can be attached to existing pieces or totally replace an old rib. Again, anchor at all appropriate points to structure. Sand for a smooth surface contour and recover. You should have both an iron and a heat gun.

Hard to tell much better without a picture of actual damage.

Notice what I put in bold in the above quot. Get these things including a hobby knife with severall #11 blades, a sealing iron and some matching covering and dig in. You will be suprised how much fun it is to make your own repairs and take your plane back to the air.

You will need some tools; a hobby knife and a covering iron at a minimum. You will also need some glue and probably some ultracoat too. It may be as easy as opening up the covering where the ribs are broken and gluing them back together using CA or even a white glue like Elmers. Then patch the hole with the Ultracoat that you will acquire, using a covering iron. If the damage is such that you have to make new ribs, or a least a part of a rib(s), then you will need some balsa wood too so that you can use your hobby knife to make a new rib part that will replace that which are damaged. Then just glue them in and make your patch.

only thing i could add to what was said here is don't be afraid of making any repairs.its only sticks and plastic.most needed repairs aren't as bad as they first appear.

I know this is a little late for you but when I build a kit I use my computer scanner to scan the ribs before assembly. This allows me to print a template for any broken ribs that may occur during any brain farts or dumb thumbs that might occur

Great idea but this was an RTF. Of course he could have stood the wing panel on end and scanned the root rib before assembly and that would have helped.

As long as it wasn't a tapered wing!!



Ken

I actually have a template of the wing root rib if it is needed. I used it to make a "wedge" rib when I took the dihedral out of the wing. I could scan it it and email if I had to....