Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

I really need help in how to fully sheet a built up wing. I've only sheeted partial wings like center sections and LE's and tips on Sig's Astro and Hog Bipe. Are there any videos out there to help me since this kit is not longer available as I'd like to take my best shot without messing up the sheeting job. Thanks for any leads or tips. It's a Jack Stafford 60 size kit and is anxious to get out of the box.

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

I have fully sheeted several wings and the method I have found that works best is to edge-glue all of the sheets first.

Before I go any further, I should explain that the design of the wing itself is important. An ideal candidate for fully-sheeting is a wing where the sheeting overlaps the LE and TE, or at least the TE. For example, on an Ultra Sport, the sheeting butts against the rear of the LE stock, so it is easier to sheet just the front section first, then sheet from the spar, back to the TE.

But in either case, pre-joining the sheeting is key.

The way I do it is to lay two sheets together and check for a good match. Cut or sand them if needed for a good fit, but it doesn't have to be perfect.

Now I tack-glue the two ends together and (With the sheets on a piece of waxed paper) sand the top of the sheets where they meet. This will allow sanding dust to fill any gaps. Wipe away any surface dust and run a bead of thin CA along the seam. The CA will wick into the dust to create what I call "Balsa Concrete". Now, IMMEDIATLY sand the area with a sanding bar - The CA will ruin the sandpaper after only a few seams, but the joint will be perfect.

Now you can sheet the remaining section with one wide sheet and trim off any excess

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

Cubfloater

FYI - I am not sure how scale you trying to make your Ercoupe but originally I believe Ercoupes had fabric covered wings with aluminum leading edges. Later on some have "metalized" the wing by sheeting it in aluminum. Not trying to tell you not to sheet but fabric may be more scale.

Mark

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

Ooops Double Post

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

Minn, what process do you use to glue the sheets to the wing structure and hold it down while the glue cures? I've used a couple different methods for it but not sure the best one for doing a whole wing? You use titebond and weights? Like sand bags or bags of shot? And thanks for your help.

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

When I built my Aircoupes the sheeting was not difficult at all,
I used Medium C/A and alot of clamps, the tricky part is bending the bottom sheeting up at the tip and securing it without distorting the tip. The wing has minimal internal structure and the strength in the wing comes from the sheeting. You will be surprised by how light and strong that wing is when you are finished. My buddy ground looped his on takeoff and it cartwheeled tip to tip without any damage to the wing, broke the mounting blocks out of the fuse.
Anthony

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

I am not trying to butt in ,lots of Ercoupe had metal wings. I have restored 3 Ercoupes and two had Fabric wings and mine came from Factory in 1946 with Fabric wings > In 1948 the wings were then covered with metal on my plane . I got this info from Aircraft Log books. The metal only added 20lbs to wings. Having flown both type of Ercoupes I found that the fabric ones wings were smoother and landed better. See my coupe on my site. Good luck with your model BOB MOORE 6559

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

Hey guys, butt in all you want. The more info the better. Thanks Anthony for your input. I followed your thread on building yours and just need to get started. Did you ever get your engine swapped out on yours and still flying it? Both of yours looked great. And I couldn't believe how fast you built them. I must over think and over build mine. And it's been over a year since I built my last one. Seems like I forget some of the techniques between builds. Actually I've only built two large (60 size planes) anyway. A Hog Bipe and Astro Hog and both came out great. I have built several smaller ones of varying difficulty and technique. I tend to follow most instructions to the letter and since the Stafford Ercoupe only has a couple pages you have to know or be able to figure out how to do most of it. Oh, and I have scratch-built one plane however from a set of plans so I should have the ability to figure out most of it. Work and family keeps me from it mostly but I keep wanting to get back to it. I guess it's just sort of addictive and or theraputic to build.

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

I still haven't gotten a new engine,
I finished up a 25% Waco a couple months ago and I am now building a 33% Waco. I am moving to all BIG planes.
Anthony

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

wow, Ive got a pica 1/6 waco I need to finish up myself. Love those planes.

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

Here is a couple pics of my 25% scratch built from Pepino plans.

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

Beautiful.... I'm scared to ask.... how long did that one take build? And don't tell me 3 months. I can't decide what base color to put on mine. White or yellow. I've got the factory decals in red to go on it. I'm older and find myself wanting to use yellow and orange so I can see them better. You are a master builder!

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

IT took in the nieghborhood of 8 months and over 800 hrs of hair pulling work. The 33% is going together much faster and easier.
Thanks for the compliment, if you are looking for a tough build the Pepino Waco will fit the bill.
Anthony

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

and you actually fly that thing? I thought I'd loose it when I lost my 120 hour Hog Bipe on the 7th flight I might add.

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

cubfloater, when I have to join sheets together I take a streight edge and lay it on each sheet and cut it so that I get streight edges to work with and then pin them down tight together and then put a strip of masking tape over the joint. then unpin and fold them back opening up the joint so that you can put a bead of titebond in the joint. Then put them back together and wipe off the joint with a damp paper towel. Pin the sheets down and let dry. You should then have a good tight joint that will be easy to sand.

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

thanks, I don't have a problem joining the sheets, it's the gluing them down to the structure I'm worried about.

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

Another method that I use to glue the sheeting down is to use Elmers wood glue on the wing ribs and tack glue the sheeting at the T/E with CA glue then pull the sheeting down over the ribs towards the L/E and tack glue the sheeting at the L/E with CA. This will help hold the sheeting down against the ribs while the Elmers dries and you have plenty of time to work with the sheeting rather than using CA across the entire bonding surface. You get the best of both worlds with this method and I find myself using it more and more. You can add weight to help hold the sheeting down to the wing but you have to be careful not to warp the wing with the weight or the game is over.
Anthony

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

I used the same method that Anthony used for sheeting the wing. A commbination of wood glue and Ca. I built a Ziroli P-47 and used the same method as well.

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

Once I get the sheeting stuck on the structure using Elmer's (I use Yellow glue) you can use stacks of old magazines, lots of them, on top of the sheeting to keep the sheeting in the right place. Place them so the curved part fits over the curved part of the airfoil.

Can you guess which magazines I use?

RE: Ercoupe full wing sheeting help?
 

Okay guys, thanks.... I'm feeling better about it now and picturing how it should go. I'm guessing the main thing before I glue is to be sure without too much force I can lay the sheeting down across the whole structure pretty well. What is it trial fit twice and glue once, er maybe that was measure twice and cut once. You know what I mean. Got all these guys right around me chiming in like Durham, Cullowhee, etc. Or maybe that was another thread. Anyway I sure wish I could start a group building meeting place for a support group if you will where we could get together weekly or monthly to share ideas, tools etc. We used you have such a thing at our old field and the structure burned down taking most of two members planes and tools with it. What a shame. Maybe I'll spread the word to see if I can get something like that started. Thanks again for all the input, it is most appreciated. There's nothing I like better than building or flying than reading these threads.