Hi folks,

Just received my GP Stick 60 kit and was planning on working on it this week-end, but I noticed one of the wing holding tabs is broken. To send the plane back and get another one is 7-10 days, and I am debating whether I should just fix it. Normally I would fix a small thing like this and wouldn't even ask the question, but since the tab holds the wings in place I thought it would be a good idea to ask you experts. I was planning on putting epoxy in between the broken pieces and clamp it closed. I could also possibly fiberglass the area once the two wing halves are joined together.

The plywood looks rather light, so even if I get a new one I'd probably re-inforce it.

Your thoughts? Should I send this back and wait two weeks or fix it?

I had read that the 2 tabs where a weak part of the
Stick.

Here is what I did to reinforce the area. My 40 size
Stick is in it's second season and is a blast to fly.

Hope the pics help you ? To answer your question,
I would just fix it.

Bob

Bob

Yep, already started, just needed a nod from someone...

You are right, the plywood is really light (is this what you call liteply?) The landing gear and the wing holding areas also seems somewhat light, so I'll beef that up a little as well. Is it necessary to glass over the area where the two wings join (like you do with kits)?

Overall I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the covering, very few wrinkles.

I don't recall glassing the middle of the wing, just Epoxy. I lrt
it cure for a couple of days. I too reinforced the area where I
mounted my tail dragger gear.

Bob

This is exactly what happened with my BS 60. I called towerhobbies and they sent me a replacement wing set. I didn't even need to send in the old wing.

I'd imagine you could fix it yourself. Just juse lots of epoxy.

I would have done that if they'd send me a wing kit, but they wanted the entire plane back. I even suggested to send just the wings back for a replacement wing set but they wouldn't agree - which I understand since they probably need to send the plane back to the manufacturer to get their warranty money back.

I wasn't in the mood to wait a week or two so I am fixing it. Not a big deal though, if anything, it highlighted the need to re-inforce that area.

Another guy at our club ordered a BS60 and the same thing happened to him. When he called Tower, they wanted him to send in just the wing. I think it depends on who you speak to on any given day regarding what they'll do to remedy the issue for you.

Could be that they are having to replace a lot of wings and have decided to make it harder to return them. Most flyers won't go to the trouble of taking everything out just to get a small repair like that done.

ppkk, Whey you are ready to join the wing halves together, apply the epoxy to wing roots as needed and, like you said; in between the tab's broken pieces. Use Wax paper on the completed tab assembly and clamp together. 30 Minute/slow cure epoxy is best for wing half joining. Allow a day to cure then file any excess epoxy away for a properly shaped mounting tab.

Glass tape the center section to help prevent "wing folding".

Plywood offered today on some of these planes reminds me of a ham sandwich! The middle ply material IMO has just enough body/strength to hold the outer sheets apart, allowing the finished product to be classified as plywood.

Once I got someone less than helpful about an issue on the line...

I told them I had to run and would call back.

I called about an hour later and got someone completely different and MUCH more helpful.

It happens... everyone has a bad day now and then.

Well, I was afraid of that . To do that I'd have to remove some Monokote on both sides of the wing, apply the fiberglass and then reapply Monokote on top of it. And as it turns out, my Monokote red is slightly lighter in color than the one that came with the ARF (different batch). Not an easy way out of this one...

ppkk, Unless you plan to enter the model in a contest where appearance will earn you points...reinforce the center section!

Remove the monokote back far enough to expose about 1/4" of bare wood outside the tape you choose. Mask off farther out where you don't want the epoxy to run. Bottom and top tape get done in one process, but it takes two steps...Do the bottom strip first, wrap up & over an inch or two LE and TEdge, cutting a bit to surround the mounting tab at LE and forget for now about the wing mount bolt holes at TE. (They can be cleaned out after)

30 minute epoxy allows plenty of time to do this job.

About epoxy: I have done a some research and found in general, manufacturer's claim that epoxy is not to be thinned! However, I have been thinning it for years with dope thinner, and have had no problems. Go figure!

Batch amount: One time, I estimated how much epoxy it will take to do the entire job then mixed the whole batch at once. The result was shortened cure time! Seems as if the curing process got accelerated when a large amount got mixed at once.

Many use Finishing Resin, which is thinner than epoxy and the end result looks really good too. Search and find out more about it.

You can paint the completed center section and not bother with monokote. If you cant match the red...paint it black, or another color to match other trim for example. The properly joined wing halves are more important than the final overall appearance IMHO.

SafeTwire,

No worries, I will re-inforce the mid section. You are right, it is a good precautionary measure.

I usually use finishing resin for this type of work since no thining is needed. And to follow your train of thought, why risk it if manufacturer's advise against thinning .

The chemical reation that cures epoxy is exothermic, which means it generates heat. When you mix larger quantities of epoxy, more heat is retained, which accelerates the reaction and causes even more heat. As you noticed, larger quantities greatly affect cure time. When I need larger quantities, I usually either mix multiple batches, or spread on a larger flat surface to better dissipate heat, hence maintain cure time.

Very interesting! Thinking back to the large batch mixed, I remember the mixture and container getting so hot it started to smoke. Had to bring the container outside until the "super nova" ran it's course!

Thanks for the information!