bubbles in sheeted wings?
06-28-2002 | 11:06 PM
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From: Oregon,
OH
bubbles in sheeted wings?
a friend gave me a 25 yr old wavemaster that has a sheeted wing. there are a few bubbles on the bottom that arent very big. i tried fixing a part of it and it looks bad. if the bubbles arent big enough to effect flight and you dont know that they are there unless you feel the wing, is it ok to leave them alone and cover over them? thanks,
Jeff
Jeff
06-29-2002 | 01:33 AM
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From: Anchorage,
AK
Safety
I'm not familiar with this model, so I don't know if the wings are sheeted foam or sheeted balsa, but...
If they're balsa, I'd poke small holes with a pin at the locations of the ribs, and dribble a little thin CA into them, to re-adhere them to the ribs. (If you have a little glue syringe, this is a good place to use it.) Use a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap, wrapped around your finger, to hold it down while it cures, so it doesn't stick to your finger.
If they're foam, I'd make a rectangular cut through just the sheeting where the bubbles are, and remove it. Then I'd put a little epoxy on the foam, replace the sheeting, wipe off any excess epoxy, tape it down, and wait for it to cure.
After using either of these methods, you can fill and sand as needed, to get a good surface finish.
For me, the issue would be safety. I'd want to make sure that the sheeting is adhered to the underlying structure, so that it can properly spread the flight loads. You don't want your wing folding in flight.
If they're balsa, I'd poke small holes with a pin at the locations of the ribs, and dribble a little thin CA into them, to re-adhere them to the ribs. (If you have a little glue syringe, this is a good place to use it.) Use a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap, wrapped around your finger, to hold it down while it cures, so it doesn't stick to your finger.
If they're foam, I'd make a rectangular cut through just the sheeting where the bubbles are, and remove it. Then I'd put a little epoxy on the foam, replace the sheeting, wipe off any excess epoxy, tape it down, and wait for it to cure.
After using either of these methods, you can fill and sand as needed, to get a good surface finish.
For me, the issue would be safety. I'd want to make sure that the sheeting is adhered to the underlying structure, so that it can properly spread the flight loads. You don't want your wing folding in flight.
