Best way to fix this is how?
 

Well I guess the first one had to come sometime, I just wish it hadn't been on my new decathlon. I was trying to learn new stuff with it without enough altitude and I stalled it. When I went to pull out of it, I panicked and gave full up elevator which then made her tip stall. She was just barely off the ground and at a slow speed when she tip stalled and it did a cartwheel off the gear and the nose. Luckily all tail feathers and the wing never even impacted the earth, but the nose sure took the brunt of it. It sheared right at the front of the cockpit area. I think I can fix it, but I am not sure where to start. I have a couple questions.

1. It is an arf, so can I take most of it apart with ca debonder?

2. Will fingernail polish remover work ok as a debonder if I apply it with a q-tip?

3. How do I fix and reinforce the main frame of the fuselage without making it very heavy?

Thanks ahead of time fellas!

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Brett,
While it looks bad, it's actually a pretty easy repair. You will need to glue the main piece of nose back on to the fuselage, mating up all the broken parts like putting a puzzle back together. Then you will need to reinforce the structual parts, which are the parts made of out of ply. A good repair is to epoxy hobby sticks (popsicle sticks) across each broken part so it acts like a splint. You can use thin CA to glue the sheeting back together.

Ken

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Aw hell, that's not bad. I know it LOOKS bad, and you probably feel like crap about it, but that is very fixable.

Ever put a jigsaw puzzle together? Same thing, but use CA :D

Seriously, just put the nose back in place, line it up with whatever is still solid on both pieces and have someone apply CA to hold it in place. Then systematically glue whatever joints you can.

Once you've gotten all you can, reinforce the joints with a little balsa or lite ply.

The worst of it is replacing the windshield, but a little creative cutting will make a 2-liter soda bottle into a resonable facsimile

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Yes I do feel like crap, but oh well.[&o] I think I will have to make a couple of the braces, they were splintered. Luckily I can get a set of new windows for 5 bucks from horizon:D, that helps the crappy feeling. It is sheeted back past the cockpit so I cut nice square lines in it and cut the broken parts out. I am getting a better feeling now since I have some of it apart and can see the problems. That main frame at the front of the cock pit is broke in a couple spots, but I think I can throw some glue in there and slide it back together. Should I use CA or epoxy on the frame structure? If CA, what thickness?

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Personally I would use medium CA and keep some kicker on hand

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

And a trick that I learned from the Minn-man himself. Don't spray kicker on to the work area. Open the bottle of the kicker and use something like a metal ball driver wrench to apply the kicker. Put your CA in place and then use the ball driver put a small drop of kicker in place on the CA. A couple of reasons for this. The biggest reason is to save your CA. If you have to apply any more CA to this area the overspray from squirting it on will cover everything. Then when you try to apply more CA it will touch the kicker and more than likely set off the entire bottle of CA. Second reason, it saves on your kicker. You only need a drop, and the spray head puts out about 20 times more than you need.

Ken

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

And if you need any expert help, just bring it over to Ken's house. :D

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

That is a possibility Brett. If you want some help in getting it back together let me know. Or I could repair it for you. If need be we could meet half way, maybe in Chickasa and I could get it from you.


On a side note, do you know about the swap meet at the Realm on the 25th???

Ken

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

HaHa, I was just thinking about asking if you were coming up! There is one at Hobbies and RC on Sunday too. That's the place on I-240 and Pennsylvania, which is walking distance from my house.

I really appreciate the offer, but I think I can fix it. I already lined everything up and it is definitely like a jigsaw puzzle, only I know where the pieces go.:D Funny how splintered cracked wood will slide back together huh?

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Brett,
Which Sunday?? Same weekend??? I doubt I'll come up there two days in a row. I'll probably come up on the 25th for the one at the Realm. I've got a Sundowner I'm hoping I can find somebody that wants it.

Well, if you change your mind on repair help let me know. I'll be out of town from the 16th-20th though. Mike and I will be in Florida covering Frank Tiano's new event for RCU. [link=http://www.monsterplanes.com]www.monsterplanes.com[/link] . I'm pretty excited about this one as it should be a good show. The MINIMUM weight for planes to enter in the event is 35 pounds!!!!!! There are supposed to be planes coming from all over the world for this one!! Should be a good show.

Ken

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

The other swap meet is this coming Sunday, the 13th. That shop is more cars and heli's than airplanes, but I'm gonna stop by. A guy at our airfield just destroyed his sundowner, he might be wanting another one. He lost it on its first flight I think. I helped him rip it apart so he let me have the landing gear and the little helmet.:D. I should be ok on fixing the plane, I like to do stuff myself. I did everything to my Mustang except the paint and body, sticks and glue should be no sweat:eek:, maybe. Anyway, here is what I got done so far tonight.

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Another trick I learned from making these kind of repairs. To reinforce the joints where sheeting or planking is glued together, try using strips of fiberglass cloth and 30 minute epoxy. This works especially well on plywood. If you use the lightest cloth you can find, you can use it on the outside, and it will never show through the covering. You'll get a stronger reinforcemnt that weighs less than the popsicle sticks, and is probably stronger.

Brad

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Looks like you're doing great.

Another good thing to use instead of fiberglass and epoxy is used fabric softener sheets and medium CA. That stuff is as tough as nails.

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

I've been trying to turn my decaff into something that looks like that for ages,good luck mate:)

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Brett,
The repairs look great!!! Better be carefull. Before too long we'll have you building kits!!!! ;)

I doubt I can make it up for the swap meets this weekend. But I've got the one on the 25th on the calendar, so I'll probably be at that one.

Ken

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

AND it smells good :)

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Well, wood repairs are complete, just gotta go get some red ultracote.

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Beautiful!

So, what Kit are you building this winter? :D

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

;) :D

Ken

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Nice job on the fix. I would bet that a lot of planes with less damage get pitched. I almost got rid of one that the whole front end was wiped out by my son in law, but I set it aside for a while, and when I started in on it, it took about 2 - 3 hours to fix the whole thing.

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

MinnFlyer: do you use them fresh out of the box or after they have been thru the dryer?

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Actually I had planned on building the Great Planes T-Craft, but I'm not sure now. I want to build a 25 size plane since I pulled the engine and servos out of my other one, so I am kinda limited.

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Mike, notice that I said "used fabric softener sheets "

You don't want to use new ones as they are loaded with fabric softener.

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

Sure enough. I read to fast took 'used' as 'use'. My error.

RE: Best way to fix this is how?
 

brett65,
I feel your pain. Here's a shot of my Decathlon. I had it out for it's maiden flight on floats. The floats were too heavy for the plane, it stalled and the rest is history as they say. Since I really liked the plane, both with wheels and snow skis, I am rebuilding it.
Paul

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/1391/pa120012od6.jpg