Well, the inevitable came to pass! Biff-o-matic landing resulted in the low-level cartwheel manuever with predictable results.

Photos of the carnage attached. My repair skills are non existent. How should I proceed with making repairs that will be durable? The fuse sides are lite ply laminated to a balsa fuse doubler on the inside. The areas where I have to edge join the fuse side, I thought I would hold together with tape/elastics, then wick in some thin CA. Then I thought I'd laminate some balsa on the inside of the joints with 30 minute epoxy. I'm not so sure of how to fix the spot where the wing bolt plate tore away from the fuse sides. The glue joint held, but it looks as though the lite ply de-laminated where the wing bolt plate was glues to it. I was thinking of CA'ing this all back together and then reinforcing it with some FG.

Anyone have any tips for me?

Thanks!

See...my glue joints held!

I don't know how to approach repairing the turtle deck. I'. pretty sure that if I try to pull it off, I'll make a mess of it!

Looks like a fairly straight forward repair job on fuse side. Pull everything back into place as best you can and wick some thin CA along the cracks. Unless some wood is missing the joints should match up almost perfectly.

The turtle deck will be a little harder but follows the same idea - hold everything back in place as best you can. Elastics work well but use whatever works. Don't worry about the missing pieces just yet. Again, use thin CA to glue verything in place, but don't go overboard because it's hard to sand off.

Now it's time to fill in the gaps and clean up the turtle deck. For missing holes put a piece of 1/16" balsa behind the hole. When dry fill in the hole balsa filler. Once that's dry sand it down nice and smooth to the shape of the turtle deck.

Oh, and if it's really bad don't be afraid to cut the sheeting off and do it over. You did it once so doing it again should only take half as long.

Most important step: Inspect EVERYTHING for hidden damage. Behind the wing saddle on the fuse is a prime location for a break in a crash like this.

Generally I prefer to use aliphatic resins (wood glues) instead of CA, but CA is ideal for this type of repair work.

PS: I just took a job in the north end of Salmon Arm. I'll be commuting from Vernon every day so I might just have to find the field so I can sneak in some flights after work.

HI sheldon, I think I remember getting an e-mail from you. Did you find a bike? I have a couple, a Kawasaki GPz that I've had for 19 years, and a tweaked out XR600 that goes way to fast in the woods.

Where are you working in Salmon Arm?

The field I fly at is out towards Sorrento, the home of the Shuswap Lake Aero Modelers. There is also a field at Grindrod, but it's only open Wednesdays and Sundays.

Thanks for your fix-up tips. Although I am anxious to get flying again, I'm going to make sure I do this right!

I'm going to wait on the bike for a couple of months, but a cheap bike might pay for itself in fuel costs. The company is called Forsite, just off the highway at the end of the lake.

If you can't make the repairs to your satistfaction let me know because I've still got all the pieces from my kit. We can make you a new fuse in no time - and significantly lighter.

Oh David!!!

My heart bleeds for you!

I don't mean to be cruel, but for the sake of many others here I have to say this:

This is NOT a good second airplane!

Now EVERYONE out there, READ MY LIPS...

"THIS IS EXACTLY WHY NO PLANE WITH A BOLTED-ON WING IS A GOOD SECOND PLANE!!!!!!"

Ok, now that I'm down off my soapbox...

Sheldon is correct, follow the proceedures he mentioned. The only thing I might add is after you back-up any holes, you may want to add a piece of balsa to fill the area (if it is a large area) and THEN fill it with filler (just so you don't have a big chunk of filler which could crack over time)

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Sheldon

Forsite, know them well....sometime when you are on lunch or something, pop downtown and say hi. I hang out at Computer Professionals, ask Terri, she'll tell you where we are. Do you have a US 40+ kit? You have all the pieces left?

Mike

I know I know I know....but since when has this hobby been about logic Actually since when have any of my hobbies been about logic. My wife tells me that I only have one hobby, it's called "Turning Money Into Noise". I think I should have shirts made up or something.

I know I am a bit over my head with this airplane, but I think that with a bit more experience and some better judgement (almost nobody else was flying in the wind) I will be OK. When I saw things getting out of shape, my brain locked up, actually I think I forgot to hit my idle-down and that's why I had trouble getting the thing on the ground in the first place. I'm learing that complexity is not a good thing for a newbie. I should just concentrate on getting the engine to idle down really well rather than worry about figuring out all the funky features on my radio.

As far as wing bolts go, I agree that they raise the bar in terms of probable damage in a mishap such as mine, but I can't think of an plane that has runner band secured wings that I can learn aerobatics with, and that I like the looks of. Athough, on reflection, even SPADS are looking good at this point!

That's exactly my point. (First I really want to point out that I'm not picking on you, I'm saying this for the good of all)

All too often People want to get rid of their trainers and get a "Good Looking Plane".

How often do you see a newbie here ask if a Warbird or an Ultimate Bipe is a good trainer? And we have to tell them, "No, you have to learn to crawl before you can run".

You also have to WALK before you can run!

Here's a good suggestion: Since your US is going to be out of commission for a bit, build a SPAD. So what if they're ugly, they cost next to nothing, and it will get you back to the field quickly. Then, fly the H@LL out of it while you're rebuilding the US.

This way, when the US is finished, it will wind up with a few less scars in the years to come.

My trainer had bolt on wings. (RCM 40). Believe me, when she finally endured her fatal crash at my hands it was not the wing that suffered - that was relatively unharmed. The Nylon bolts sheared clean. Then again, it was not a cartwheel crash. More of a Split-C (1/2 if a Split Esse).

I've seen Ultra Sports at our club and they fly darned nice, but I could tell right away it would bite me as a second plane. I went for a Big Stik. (Actually I built a Contender 60 in between but have yet to fly that).

Here's a repair tip that works splendidly for me. To reinforce the inside of damaged areas use trimmed pieces of coffee filters with epoxy squeeged over the spot. Dollop on some epoxy on the area. Lay on the filter patch. Squeegie out the epoxy with a piece of plastic milk jug as a spatula. As it oozes out spread it back over the filter patch. This method removes most of the epoxy so it won't add unneeded weight. It ends up thin and strong.

Thanks for the tip. I was planning to do the same sort of reinforcement with balsa, but I didn't know which way the grain should go. I do have some fibreglass laying around from when I joined my wing, I think I will use that instead. I use a metal mesh coffee filter. Much more robust flavour and I haven't run out of filters in the past 6 years!

Use the glass, but for future reference:

If using balsa, cross the grain, unless it needs to be curved.

And instead of coffee filters, use those Fabric Softener Sheets (AFTER they have been used). They are almost as strong as FG.

Wow, what a great idea! I know they don't tear easily, now I will have to try them out for reinforcement on a little fun-flyer that has been flying around in my head lately.

Thanks!

Interestingly enough....there was a glue joint that let go. I installed the turtle deck sheeting with wood glue...that's the only spot that popped.

I think I can have the wood repairs done tonight, and the covering repaired before the weekend. Another one of the guys in the club was talking about building a SPAD of some sort, and another fellow, who works for me actually crashed the bejesus out of his Kadet at the end of last year, maybey I'll talk them both into building SPADS with me.

MinnFlyer is definitely right when he emphasized AFTER being used on those dryer sheets. I didn't have any that had been used so i just grabbed a new one. Man, you thought CA burned your eyes, wait until it gets mixed with fabric softner. Besides that, now my freaking plane smells like Spring Breeze.

Yup, I've got almost all the pieces left. I'm building an electrified version, which means most of the kit parts are hideously overbuilt for electric (no vibration from the motor), and I swear some of the "balsa" is spruce.
See http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...threadid=106984

Interesting thread Sheldon! As this was my very first kit I did not have much in the way of perspective to compare the kit against, your info is very enlightening!