Hi all,

I would like to get some opinions from the membership here about what I'm about to do, but before I ask my questions I'll provide a little background....

I have been flying on and off now for about 15 months, having successfully soloed a while ago and I would consider myself an advanced beginner pilot. I fly a P51, and my 4* 60 with no problem, but I'm certainly not doing advanced 3d stuff.

Prelude to my question.....I have a World Models Mach 2 high wing trainerish plane that after about 50 flights decided to deadstick and I managed to fly it into fence post due to a cross wind. The fence post won and I ripped my wing in half so no more flying that plane which is a bummer because I loved banging that plane around. It has been collecting dust in my garage until I decided what to do with it - I wasn't really into putting a new wing from World Models on it at $44 since a new kit costs about $22 more than that.

However, last night I acquired a wing from what appears to be a Hangar 9 Alpha. The new wing is about 2 inches shorter and the chord is about 1" shorter than the original wing, and I'm wondering if I could make it work. I really want to put this wing on this plane so I can give my kids something to learn on and don't care much about how it looks, but do want it to fly reasonable well so we can have more fun with the plane.

My Question....will this work? Obviously, my wing loading will be heavier than with the original, and I will have to fashion an attachment mechanism(rubber bands) to secure the new wing to the fuse. I'm guessing it will work as the World Models plane "whole" is 5.5 lbs and the Alpha is 5.25 lbs per the specs.

I just want to get my old Mach II back in the air with minimal investment so I have a fun plane to play with.

Anyone have any thoughts other than go buy the right wing for this plane or fix the broken one....

I certainly don't want to create any safety issues with this, but I don't think this will have much adverse impact on its flyability.

Happy to hear if anyone has done anything similar or has recommendations one way or another.

Thanks,

Scott

Scott, make sure you box in a seat for the new wing so it doesn't shift around. Than and making sure the CG is OK and it should work.

You might try using a smaller tank, this should give you three or more OZ weight reduction. Then again, it may fly just fine with the slightly heaver weight. OH yes. make sure the incidences are good with the new wing. Those fence post seem to always jump out, we've lost three planes at our field this year to them. Almost four, I don't have a clue how mine missed and went under the barbed wire.

When I was a kid, I used blind slats and aluminum tubing from a blown down TV antenna and made control line planes. I'ts kind of supprising what will get off the ground when prompted.


Don

Scott : I'm not going to say it will or won't work but it sounds like a challenge and if you are up to it GO for IT.

Now to explain why I would say that. If you don't try it you will never know and from what you said it sounds like you have a chance to create something.

Years ago I took 2 different halves of 2 different sticks wings and put them togeather. It looked odd as on one side the aileron tapered out and the other side tapered in and the old covering was all different on each side.
Then I took the front part of another stick and the tail off a Kaos and out them togeather.
NOW you can say what you want but the stupid thing flew really well and after a year of flying it I gave it to a student who flew it for a couple months before he crashed it trying some new stunts.

If you have the stuff to try it with without hurting any one/thing or your budget GO for IT !!!! It will be a blast that you probably will never forget, and you will probably learn a thing or 2. I named mine " Junk Yard Dog " and put letters on it that said SO.
ENJOY !!! RED

shussey, you might be overestimating how difficult it might be to simply rebuild the wing. If you know any good modellers (as opposed to good pilots or mechanics), they might be willing to spend a few hours with you cutting out some new spars, sheeting, and ribs. You have half a good wing to work with as a template, and reconstructing the other half might actually be cheaper and faster that trying to refit your fuselage properly to accept a different wing.

I find modelling to be the toughest of the three disciplines(again, piloting and mechanics being the other two) this hobby requires. I just started flying last year, and I'm learning that cutting and gluing balsa sticks together can be surprisingly gratifying. The tough part is simply forcing yourself to sit down and learn how to do it.

Just my two cents. Good luck with whatever you decide to try!

shussey,

If you're able to handle the high wing Sky Raider, you're probably ready to move to the low wing version. You may want to think about that before you put all the time and effort into rebuilding the highwing. I think you'll enjoy the low wing a lot better.

Hogflyer

Since looks are not extremely important, I think it can be done. Other than a time investment, cost will be pretty low.

You’ll need to modify the wing saddle to match the bottom, and leading edge, of the new wing. As long as you keep the ‘flat’ part at the same angle as delivered, the wing incidence should be pretty close.

The fuselage sides will probably need a thin plywood doubler added where the dowels go through. This doubler typically is inside the fuselage but you might need to put it on the outside. You can ‘paint’ it with epoxy to protect it from oil.

As already noted, you’ll need to close up the back of the wing saddle against the trailing edge of the wing.

When you take it out, if other pilots are around, tell them you’re trying out an experimental plane and maybe they’ll give you solo airspace. Where I fly, the guys are very good about that for maiden flights. You just have to let them know. Of course, they may be just sitting back to be sure they don’t miss the opportunity to see a crash.

If it doesn’t fly well, you lose very little money. Then you can decide whether to buy a new plane for the kids.

Another WM trainer wouldn’t be a bad choice; or the Tower Hobbies Trainer 40 ARF, which sells for $59.99. Occasionally Tower posts an offer code for free shipping on $50 orders, which really makes their trainer a super deal.

Thanks for thoughts guys.

I tried it and it flew great today...I have the trainer back again. Sweet...

I'll post some pics over the next couple of days. It's not a pretty airbird, but it flies fine.

I only put about 30 minutes into it and it cost only $10 for the wing.

Sweet.

Thanks for the input...

Scott

Good job !! the wingspan and chord really wasnt great enough of a diffference to worry about and really, if it hadnt worked you wouldnt be out anything anyway..so it was a good learning tool for you!!..congrats..Rog