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Bringing back the Tango...
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Well I thought I would post the pain staking process of repairing a composite fuse of a jet lots of work, but fun to se it come back alive...:D
First I access the damage and as you can see the fuse is completely broken in half on the one side and the other is shattered in the same area. The wing was broken in half throught the center and a chunk of foam was missing. |
RE: Bringing back the Tango...
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Now that see what needs to be repaired I start with the fuse. First CA all the cracks and broken joints, it don't look pretty but it gets the pieces back together. Next I cut out 6 oz glass strips and resin them over all the broken and cracked areas also I double up where needed. I aso streigthen the bottom center of the fuse as it became a real weak area so I used a piece of 1/8 balsa and glassed with 1 oz glass cloth.
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Now that it’s all glassed on the inside I brake out the mouse sander and smooth out all the cracks until there alittle smooth and not sharp protruding edges. Next I use automotive light weight bondo to fill all the cracks this is good filler and very light it in the light blue can at Walmart it has a blue hardner. To spread the bondo I have found that a deck of playing cards work great. Next strip all the paint off the fuse, this is easy just use automotive paint stripper that comes in the spray type can, I recommend this type of stipper because it sprays evenly and it only takes 3 to 5 minutes to bubble up the paint then use a plastic card to scrape it off takes very little pressure to remove the paint. Oh remmeber to do it in sections when you removing paint.
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Dave, this is great, I thought that plane was gone! Can't wait to see this in person next time I'm down in FL!
Heard the Mirage is getting better!! Congrats! |
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The fuse is almost ready to prime. The primer I am going to use is Dupont white filling primer this type of primer is great for filling pinholes and any other types of small cracks but I won’t prime until it warms up. So on to the wings, one side was broken in half and needs to be epoxy back together then that small chunk of foam that is missing I will fill with Spray expandable foam you can get at Wal-Mart too. When that cures will resheet the wings with 1/32 balsa and glass the wings. This will make it strong and more durable.I will repair the booms tomarrow, one boom is broken right in half... This will be tuff but I will show you a neat trick to do this.
sorry edited for spray missed type |
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Sean, I was going to put pusher prop engine on the back but it is coming out so nice that I decided to drop a turbine in it now. Hope to have it at Florida jets as well with my Mirage, and Facet, if I am lucky I might have the Euro sport done too, but not counting on it as I start back to work at lockheed this monday.
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There was nothing left of my Tango.
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Sorry to hear that WD40.... Todd let me fly his Tango for a bit and the time that I got to fly it, it was a really nice jet to fly and very predictable. I decided to rebuild it because it was repairable as well as it would make a nice trainer to play with and I don’t mind doing the work. Even known there is a lot of work here, almost like building a jet from kit form.
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I missed out on what happened to the Tango, I was looking at a Tango for a second jet after I get more experience with my Roo. Was this Todd's Tango?
Never mind, I saw Todd's post and video on another thread. Brian |
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This is Todd's Tango, He was fling out of a slow low pass and as he was climbing out of the slow flight the jet tip stalled as you can see in his video that he posted in another thread here on RCU. Well he made a human error and the jet crashed, he explaned it better in his thread.
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What is that Pray expandable foam? Is that the brand, Pray? Is it a urethane? Thanks.
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Im not trying to be a smart ass, but arent these kits priced very reasonable? I thought I heard of a great combo deal also. How much are they new? I am very interested to see it come back to life but is this going to be safe to fly if your planning to use a turbine? Will it be structurally safe, there appears to be very significant damage.
Scott |
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Scott, if done correctly structurally, yes, it can easily be safe. The only other issue remaining (if done so that the structure is adequate) is the weight added. It could be horrendous.
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Even if you added three pounds which would be a horrendous amount of weight, I doubt it would fly any worse. As far as I can tell, there's no carbon fibre laminate over the foam core (I have a tango in the garage), and looking at those pictures I don't see any there. I would question the wings, but Dave has some building experiance and know's what's safe and what's not.
I can pretty much gurantee that Todd will oversee this project and his stamp of approval will be on it prior to a re-maiden. It's a good little plane. I agree the package price at 1300 is relatively inexpensive, but at what dollar point do you decide to trash the plane and buy new? I guess it's only relative to how much money/time you have. Dave puts out good products and recently learned a lot about Hitec Servos and why they should not be on a Mirage ;). I suspsect this airplane will be fantastic and I can't wait to see the finished product. |
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can I be naive, and ask what happened? Is there one or two T's that crashed????
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I'm hearing that there are two that have gone in. Todd's went in by pilot error, I don't know about the other, other than to say someone mentioned there's went in.
I'm building one, and I've flown Todd's. In my opinion it's an excellent jet. |
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Nony,
Have a look at post 22 here: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Euro...1407414/tm.htm Yes...two tango's down, Mike Grant lost his as well. I believe he had a dead stick problem. Got a new tango coming... Todd |
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Both of the Tangos that went in were admitted pilot error by the pilots.[&o] It happens to the best of them....
As far as the rebuild goes, from what I understand Dave is an experienced builder and as said in another post Todd will give it a good once over.;) The only thing that I would have liked to have seen Dave do differently was the repair of the tears in the fiberglass. In addition to using CA, milled fiber should have been used too. You tack the tear with CA in a few places to hold everything together then you take pinches of milled fiber and work it into the tear. Then, use thin CA to permanently bond everything together. Work your way around the plane in the same manner. This is much stronger than CA alone as the milled fiber helps to scab together the two torn parts. Also, this will help to prevent the final painted surface from cracking in the torn area as the milled fiber makes the repair stay stable. I learned this technique from Mr. BV himself...[8D] Properly repaired this model should be as strong as new....Then the only concern will be weight. Kevin |
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I shoulda known to look in a Eurosport thread for a Tango video...silly me!!!!! :D
Thanks for filling in the blanks.... |
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First I choose to rebuild this jet due to it being a challenge and to show just because it’s a ARF and that has crashed is still can be brought back to life. Now I am sure that allot of you out there would second guess you building experience and just give up but, I have repaired many airframes in my past and they all have successful returned to the air, this Tango will not be any different.
There are many ways to repair a composite jet and my way is just one. The cracks seamed back very nice and the light weight bondo is just as strong as milled fiber or microballons over reinforced glass. The airframe is very strong; I have tested with lots of stress, remember the brake in the fuse is not a the wing tube joints it’s only in the upper fuse where there is very little stress in flight if it were in the wing joint area I would have used carbon fiber cloth for reinforcement. Anytime you do a rebuild you have to think light and especially if you use a 12 lb turbine. Believe me it will be structural sound before it flies again and you will never tell it was ever crashed when I finish. |
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ORIGINAL: Kevin Greene Both of the Tangos that went in were admitted pilot error by the pilots.[&o] It happens to the best of them.... As far as the rebuild goes, from what I understand Dave is an experienced builder and as said in another post Todd will give it a good once over.;) The only thing that I would have liked to have seen Dave do differently was the repair of the tears in the fiberglass. In addition to using CA, milled fiber should have been used too. You tack the tear with CA in a few places to hold everything together then you take pinches of milled fiber and work it into the tear. Then, use thin CA to permanently bond everything together. Work your way around the plane in the same manner. This is much stronger than CA alone as the milled fiber helps to scab together the two torn parts. Also, this will help to prevent the final painted surface from cracking in the torn area as the milled fiber makes the repair stay stable. I learned this technique from Mr. BV himself...[8D] Properly repaired this model should be as strong as new....Then the only concern will be weight. Kevin I have found a better way of filling these cracks and voids on a damaged fuse like this. Mix up some west systems epoxy thorughly, then add cabosil to the epoxy till you get a butter like consistency. Spread the cabosil/epoxy mixture over the areas you wish to fill with a playing card/credit card and let it cure for 24 hours. Once cured you can sand the areas flush. This not only fills the cracks/voids but strengthens the area as well. I have found this procedure to be stronger than the CA/Milled fiber process and much easier to sand to a feathered edge. No bondo/fillers needed.... Todd |
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Todd,
That's a good tip!!!:D I'll have to try it. I hope I didn't offend you Dave as that was not my intent!!! As you said, there is more than one way to skin this cat. Thanks for sharing this endeavor with us and keep up the good work!!! Keep us informed of your progress. Kevin |
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I mix some milled fiber into some aeropoxy and smoothed it out over the crack with a credit card. It sands very well. Then glass or carbon fiber cloth on the inside of the fuse.
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I know now that 3 Tangos have went down.
Mike Grant |
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What was the third? And what happened?
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