I'm about to acquire an older ultimate biplane that is structurally sound, but in bad need of recovering. All the ca hinges are intact, but I'm not sure I trust them due to the age and background of the kit. (It was acquired by a friend in a trade from a guy who just let it sit around) The plane doesn't appear to be crashed or repaired in any way, but I am wondering if it is safe to leave the hinges intact and just recover it, or if I should rehinge it too. Could someone please enlighten me on ca hinge durability and longevity?

They should last, but if you're in any doubt, unhook the radio and wear 'em out with manual flexing. I would do that then inspect it very closely. Any questionable appearance and I would probably re-hinge. Your call...

It may be easier to recover if you removed the control surfaces anyway. CA hinges are easy to just cut apart... and rehinge next to the old ones.
Rick

Ditto on what p39 said. How can you hope to re-cover a plane without removing the control surfaces??

I would say that if your going to re-cover, you might as wekk cut them off. But I wouldn't use CA hinges again because you can't reinstall them where the old ones were, and placing them next to the old ones won't put them where you need them. I would go with Robart Hinge Points.

I haven't had any problem rehinging ca hinges. And I figure 1/2" one way or another won't make all that much difference. If you've got access to GP hinge tool- it makes the whole process a whole lot easier.