Legend 4
06-21-2005, 08:25 AM
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Legend 4
I bought this plane (below) from a fellow flyer in my area, who told me that it was a Legend 4.... this will be my first pattern plane and I have a couple questions that I am hoping you guys can help me with....
1) Where approx would the C of G be located on this plane and what would be some starting points for the control throws?
2) There are two areas where the paint has chipped off of the fibreglass fuse.... what is the best way to repair these areas?
3) Is it true that I can't taxi this plane out like I would a normal plane???
Thanks for everyone's input! I'm really looking forward to flying this plane!!
Steve
1) Where approx would the C of G be located on this plane and what would be some starting points for the control throws?
2) There are two areas where the paint has chipped off of the fibreglass fuse.... what is the best way to repair these areas?
3) Is it true that I can't taxi this plane out like I would a normal plane???
Thanks for everyone's input! I'm really looking forward to flying this plane!!
Steve
06-21-2005, 06:22 PM
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RE: Legend 4
Here is how I do repairs on chipped paint.
First off. Get some wax and grease remover. (3M make a good one that is found at any hardware store.) Wipe the whole plane down before you do any work. Feather out the hard edge of where the paint chipped off with some 220 grit followed by 320 grit. Lightly suff the surrounding are with a scotch brite pad to dull the the surrounding finish where the repair will be done. Wipe down again with wax and grease remover. Apply some primer to the area (2-3 coats leting dry between coats) . Wet sand the primer with 400 grit wet/dry paper to get level. (I like to give a light dusting of black paint over the primed area to use as a guide coat. The black will show all the low spots/imperfections. Once the black is gone, all surface are level. You may half to a second set of primer coats depending how it sands out.) Make sure that the primer edges are feathered out or they will show up as a hard line once the paint is applied.
Once you are ready to paint. Lightly scuff the surrounding paint with a scotch brite pad to give the color coats something to adhere to. Wipe down AGAIN.....
with wax and grease remover. Tape off where the purple meets the white. Start with applying the color only to the area where you see primer. Do it in light coats! NOT HEAVY COATS!!!! Let dry between coats of color. Once the primer is covered (so you can not see it anymore through the color) with the color, start feathering (blending) the color over the rest of the area you have taped off.
Do the same for the white as above. Depending what type of paint is on the plane..... there maybe more steps to follow. Once all the painting is done. Buff the paint out.
This gives you an idea of what to expect. It is not hard!!!! Just take your time and things will turn out. The worse thing one can do when painting is hurry through it.
First off. Get some wax and grease remover. (3M make a good one that is found at any hardware store.) Wipe the whole plane down before you do any work. Feather out the hard edge of where the paint chipped off with some 220 grit followed by 320 grit. Lightly suff the surrounding are with a scotch brite pad to dull the the surrounding finish where the repair will be done. Wipe down again with wax and grease remover. Apply some primer to the area (2-3 coats leting dry between coats) . Wet sand the primer with 400 grit wet/dry paper to get level. (I like to give a light dusting of black paint over the primed area to use as a guide coat. The black will show all the low spots/imperfections. Once the black is gone, all surface are level. You may half to a second set of primer coats depending how it sands out.) Make sure that the primer edges are feathered out or they will show up as a hard line once the paint is applied.
Once you are ready to paint. Lightly scuff the surrounding paint with a scotch brite pad to give the color coats something to adhere to. Wipe down AGAIN.....
with wax and grease remover. Tape off where the purple meets the white. Start with applying the color only to the area where you see primer. Do it in light coats! NOT HEAVY COATS!!!! Let dry between coats of color. Once the primer is covered (so you can not see it anymore through the color) with the color, start feathering (blending) the color over the rest of the area you have taped off. Do the same for the white as above. Depending what type of paint is on the plane..... there maybe more steps to follow. Once all the painting is done. Buff the paint out.
This gives you an idea of what to expect. It is not hard!!!! Just take your time and things will turn out. The worse thing one can do when painting is hurry through it.
06-21-2005, 08:31 PM
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RE: Legend 4
Don't forget the most inportant thing, FIND OUT WHAT TYPE OF PAINT IS ALREADY ON IT. Otherwise you might end up with a big ugly mess if you tery to use incobatable paint.
06-22-2005, 11:17 AM
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RE: Legend 4
It looks to me like there is a small stress area in the middle of the top bare patch. It appears that some of the resin has been loosened or ejected in that area, possibly by something falling on it. Whatever happened is probably what caused the paint to come off. The fuselage flexed and the paint lost its grip. The damaged area is somewhat weaker than the rest of the fuselage. So it would be a good idea to fix it since the repair is pretty easy.
Clean the area around the break first with lacquer thinner or acetone. Next sand the area around the break to bevel it - from the inside if you can get to it (or the outside if you can't). The idea is to bevel the edges of the good fiberglass around the break area. The bevel should extend at least 1/2" beyond the damaged area. It's not necessary to sand all the way through, but the deeper the bevel, the stronger the patch. Wipe the area down with solvent a second time.
Then put a couple of patches of cloth (6-7 oz layers will be about right) and resin over the break that just cover the beveled area. You'll need to determine if the fuselage was laminated with epoxy or polyester resin if you can. If you are not sure, use epoxy.
Be sure to check the other areas where the paint is missing ... they may have areas that need repair too.
Over the years I've repaired a number of glass fuselages this way - even spliced complete nose and tail sections. None ever gave any signs of the repair afterward. Take a look at Mike Dailey's thread on rebuilding his Kwik Fli in this forum for a pictorial of how this is done.
Great looking plane. Good luck with it.
Tony
Clean the area around the break first with lacquer thinner or acetone. Next sand the area around the break to bevel it - from the inside if you can get to it (or the outside if you can't). The idea is to bevel the edges of the good fiberglass around the break area. The bevel should extend at least 1/2" beyond the damaged area. It's not necessary to sand all the way through, but the deeper the bevel, the stronger the patch. Wipe the area down with solvent a second time.
Then put a couple of patches of cloth (6-7 oz layers will be about right) and resin over the break that just cover the beveled area. You'll need to determine if the fuselage was laminated with epoxy or polyester resin if you can. If you are not sure, use epoxy.
Be sure to check the other areas where the paint is missing ... they may have areas that need repair too.
Over the years I've repaired a number of glass fuselages this way - even spliced complete nose and tail sections. None ever gave any signs of the repair afterward. Take a look at Mike Dailey's thread on rebuilding his Kwik Fli in this forum for a pictorial of how this is done.
Great looking plane. Good luck with it.
Tony
06-28-2005, 09:30 AM
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RE: Legend 4
Thanks for the input guys, I will be sure to let you know how the repairs go!!
And thanks for the compliments on the plane..... she really is a beauty, even with a few imperfections!!
My cat always seems to be fascinated with my planes.... maybe she's wondering what it is about them that keeps me so interested that I can work for hours on end on them!!
Steve
And thanks for the compliments on the plane..... she really is a beauty, even with a few imperfections!!
My cat always seems to be fascinated with my planes.... maybe she's wondering what it is about them that keeps me so interested that I can work for hours on end on them!!
Steve
