Ron Gray Posted April 3, 2020 Author Share Posted April 3, 2020 On with the repairs, and you will be pleased to know that this is the last post in the series, coz it's finished with only flying left to be done, at some point! Cutting back the film revealed the full extent of the damage, still nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. And repairs done Covering applied The finished article I may spend a bit of time remodelling the cowl as it has been cut out for different engine so there are quite a few redundant holes / cut outs. But the main job is done and can't wait to get it back in the air with its new engine (probably will run the engine up in the garden next week when the new CDI unit arrives from Morris Mini Motors. So what's the next job? Hmm, recovering the SIG Rascal is on the list but that's quite a daunting task as it's the 110" one! Edited By Ron Gray on 03/04/2020 15:37:07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Smith 1 Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Nice repair there, Ron. You have inspired me to do a refurb job on my Weston Capiche 140. It looks a bit sorry for itself in the corner and while it is essentially undamaged, it looks a bit tatty and shall we say well used! A fair bit of replacement recovering will be required and a few bits of airframe replaced, but the frame and wings are sound. I have everything in stock to effect repairs. I even have some spare servos. It used to house an OS 160 FX (long gone) if I recall, but I will be relaunching it as an electric project. I will start a new thread soon with some photos of progress as I fear we are going to be workshop confined for some while yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Manuel Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Nice work Ron. I've got a similar set of repairs to do after I ran out of skill (and luck) with my World Models Ultimate Biplane. I've been putting off the repairs for a while now, but you've inspired me to get on with it. Edited By Gary Manuel on 03/04/2020 16:41:06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 That's very neat Ron, and yes, you were lucky with the wings. I'm reluctant to do extensive repairs these days, if I damage a model badly I see it as an excuse for a new airframe . Oddly I do take on airframes abandoned by others and make them airworthy again. I then take them up the field and attempt to make them un-airworthy again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Excellent work, enjoyed the read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Posted by Bob Cotsford on 03/04/2020 16:47:45: That's very neat Ron, and yes, you were lucky with the wings. I'm reluctant to do extensive repairs these days, if I damage a model badly I see it as an excuse for a new airframe . Oddly I do take on airframes abandoned by others and make them airworthy again. I then take them up the field and attempt to make them un-airworthy again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 As Eric said to Ernie "You can't see the join" nice job Ron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted April 3, 2020 Author Share Posted April 3, 2020 As the spats got trashed in the crash I may well print off a new pair for the Sbach, when I've finished printing face masks for the NHS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Not a great fan of spats myself, I like these ones though on my Sukhoi, go faster spats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted April 3, 2020 Author Share Posted April 3, 2020 Normally I would agree John but as we fly off tarmac (or in the case of the Sbach, ploughed fields) spats don't usually cause an issue and they certainly make the 'plane look better. But I've lots of other things to get on with before I get round to them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Excellent job Ron. Fingers crossed for an uneventful life for the Sbach once the lockdown ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted April 3, 2020 Author Share Posted April 3, 2020 Thanks guys for your nice comments! Looking back at the completed shots, it really does need a pilot in there, so maybe I'll sneak a print in before the next batch of face masks. @Peter, looking forward to getting it in the air but based on my experience with the previous one (your old one) I may invest in a carbon wing tube instead of the alloy one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 A carbon tube will certainly be lighter Ron but remember these light weight aerobatic jobs don't like having power on when heading downwards. Build up too much speed and then a quick yank bends the tube! Keep the speed and elevator movement in check and the alloy tube will be fine unless you want to lose a bit of weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR 71 Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Hi Ron the canister that you have used will it make any difference to the noise level of the DLE Nice repair job, i like doing repairs/refurbishment, with my flying i et a lot of practice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 @Peter - it was more to prevent a permanent bend. If you recall, my previous Sbach returned home after a spirited time in the air (no power on down lines!!!) displaying a large amount of dihedral, which it didn’t have on take off. @SR - my experience of all of my DLEs is that a can makes a marked difference to the noise levels, hence why I went to the pains of fitting one to this model even though it wasn’t designed to have one fitted. IMO JMB or Zimmerman ones are the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 thumbs up from me Ron...well done. ken anderson...ne..1..admiration dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 Thanks again to the responses, it's nice to get interaction. Perverse as it may be, I quite enjoy re-building as it is a challenge to the old grey matter, especially if it involves some enhancements / modifications. As I said earlier in this thread, I've got an old (ish) SIG Rascal 110" which I bought last year and have already converted to electric, but the covering was looking very tired, the red has faded to nearly clear on the tail surfaces and there have been numerous patches applied over the years. So I have now embarked upon a recovering exercise, I doubt if it holds much interest to formulites so I may just show the results of my endeavours rather than a step by step progress report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 I've got agree about the grey matter exercise Ron, it's just that I have an odd reluctance to repair my own disasters, but perversely I'm quite happy to take someone else's bin-fodder and spend many hours and much blood sweat and tears rebuilding and often enhancing it. My latest is a Black Horse P40, not much real damage but very tired the u/c needs a complete redesign. It's currently set aside while I mull over how to deal with the retract mounts and shortage of spar in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 Hi Bob. Maybe a new thread entitled 'The Repair Shop' where anyone can post their pictures of how they have fixed things. I know there have been threads about specific repairs but in the current 'lock down' my guess is that there are a lot more taking place. I, for one, would like to see what others are doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Not a bad idea Ron, sort of an enhanced 'tricks'n'tips. Maybe a sticky in the Workshop area? Edited By Bob Cotsford on 05/04/2020 13:05:04 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 Very neat solution good work!. I guess as it’s open air and a 2s the can won’t get ridiculously hot i would think it will be fine. The silicone connector between header and can might get quite hot but I guess can easily be replaced if it gets too burnt. Edited By Tim Flyer on 06/04/2020 11:13:36 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 @Tim - the silicone connector is the standard one that it used on all (most) 2s with cans and doesn't get affected by the heat (well they go a bit hard over time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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