matt3D

Hi, I built a kit, the Sig Somethin' Extra, and it flys great; the Irvine 53 gives it unlimited vertical. After around 15 flights or so, I have noticed that the wood dowel has came out when I pull the wings out, the wood dowel keeps the wings level. The hole got pretty big if you put the dowel in. How should I fix this? Should I use hardwood or something?
Check out the pics, I would have taken more, but the digital camera's batteries went out... Thanks for your time.







Thank you,

Matthew

voyager_663rd

Just drill a new hole in fuse and wing about 1/2" forward or backward of the original. Harden the wing hole with some CA. When you put the dowel through the fuse holes, epoxy it in.

I would make sure that it extends at least 1 inch into each wing (I think originally it was only 1/2 inch).

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

Another idea. Make a 1" square 3/32 plwood patch with a centered hole drilled for the same size as the dowel. Grease the dowel. Insert the dowel and put the patch on the inside of the fuse. Slide the dowel so that both wings are mounted. Epoxy the patch to the side of the fuse and move the wing so the Trailing edges align. Clamp the patch and let dry. Ta Da - a perfectly aligned and repaired hole. It's easy to do than to try and write how to do.

John

matt3D

Hey, thanks for your replies guys! I will try to patch it and make a new hole, thanks again. I will take more pics once it is done.

Thanks,
Matt

voyager_663rd

No access to the inside of the fuse at that location (short of cutting an access which I don't think he would want to do). How would he get the patch in as you suggest?

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

The only thing in the way is the servo tray. I'd cut a section out and glue it back in when the repair was finished. Using a patch I can get the trailing edges to match. I would never been able to drill a new hole in the wing and another in the fuse and get the trailing edges to exactly match!

Wouldn't you have the same problem with the tray being in the way of the new dowel. You were talking about drilling the new dowel through to both wings weren't you, otherwise what supports it, or perhaps you'd support it with the tray in the middle? Just my 2 cents there is no wrong way as long as you don't add too much weight and the repair is sound. Giving advice ie writing about doing repairs on the Internet is like trying to box with both hands tied behind your back.

John

matt3D

Ok well I'm finally done! Yea! hehe, I'm going to fly it tomorrow. This is what I did; I made two squareish hardwood cuts and made one hole on each of the hardwood patches. Then I made identical cut outs in the fuse with an exacto knife.
***
IMPORTANT: if you need to do the same thing I did, first cut the holes out, of the hardwood patches, for the wood dowel, then you cut out the hardwood to make the patches with the holes already in them, its way easier to do this then to cut the holes after the hardwood patches are already cut.
***
After that I made sure they both fit..., they were both a little big and that’s what I planned, you can make them big but not small, because they won't work if their too small. I sanded the hardwood patches then fit them in the fuse again. They almost fit. So then, I sanded the fuse cutouts to make them more level and smooth. Now the hardwood patches fit perfect. Next, I glued one side of the hardwood patch to the dowel, which I probably didn't have to yet, of course I measured the length from the plans for the length of the dowel to stick out of the hardwood patch. Then I put glue, (epoxy), on the outside of the the hardwood patches. I first put in the hardwood patch that was already glued to the dowel, and then I stuck the other hardwood patch on the other side of the dowel, and made sure that they were flush with the fuse. Remember to put a lot of epoxy on the inside the fuse on the dowel, so it won't ever move again. Finally I made monocote patches to cover the hardwood patches, they don't have to be perfect because you won't see them once the wings are on, but still make them nice. And that is it! Once again I'm going to fly tomorrow, so I will tell you if it still flys the same which it should, because I put a mark on the fuse for the wings to see where it is supposed to be, with the messed up hole, pushing the dowel up to the servo deck where it is supposed to be. Now if you are building your SSE make sure you glue your dowel to your servo bay with epoxy, so you don't have to go through what I did and probably many other people...

Here are some pics:
Cut out from fuse


Hardwood patch in fuse and dowel, note the black mark, which was used for the wing to make sure that it matched up to its original spot.


Picture of SSE with fixed dowel holes


Another Pic, sorry for the lighting, I used flash on the digital camera, I would have taken the pics outside but it was just too cold


Up in close with the powerful Irvine53


Thats it!

Thanks for your time and have happy landings,

Matt

Remeber, be patient it will all work out.

matt3D

I flew my SSE today, and it was great. No problems at all... Looking foward to Christmas.. Have a great day!