Bumstead

My Feedback: (2)

Need some help fellows, After a nasty tip stall crash on my H9 AT-6, I managed to break the wing joiner on the right side, wing roots separated magically at some less than perfect joint and they seem O.K. My question is how do I go about repairing the joiner?
I thought about drilling it out to accept an Al tube or some other structure to function as a stress bearing member. I don't even want to think about hogging out the pockets and replacing the ply joiner.
I have rebuilt the firewall (replaced with three layers of 1/8 AC ply epoxied at 120 grain to eachother and new longerons from the fuse sides.
Anybody have similar problem they resolved??
Thanks

csmbt

I have had some success with the technique you mentioned
using a joiner aluminum tube. Make sure that the tube runs
at least 2/3 - 3/4 of the length of the ply joiner, to ensure
stability and rock solid support I actually used two tubes
one above the other. It is imperitive you measure the
spacing for the holes and drill down perfectly straight
on both sides or you will cause all sorts of problems ( hmm don't ask
how I know this !! ) I glued in using a generous amnt of epoxy
one tube on the left and one on the right let it set up and
then glued them both together. So far I have had many successful
flights with my repaired wing and no problems.

By the way if worse comes to worse cleaning out the plywood joiner
is not that big a deal just time consuming - Take a extended length
drill bit, drill several holes the length of the joiner, take your jigsaw
remove the excess I then took a handy dandy home made dremel
sanding extention ( take a length of stiff wire the same diameter
as the dremel sanding drum attachment attach them together -
I used solder - hehe make REAL sure they line up -and hey
presto a sanding attachment that reaches into impossible to reach
otherwise areas) clean out the excess you couldn't get with the
jigsaw and there you go

Hope this helps

MEASURE REAL WELL AND DRILL DOWN STRAIGHT!!

csmbt

Bumstead

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks, I found a kind of Drill bit at Lowes that has teeth along the entire shaft, worked pretty good at hogging out the ply. My neighbor has a thing called a Roto-Bit that he used to cut drywall with. The thing would have cut through the wing, my arm, the wall and my house if not used VERY CAREFULLY.
It worked so well that i managed to get the ply out completely.
Now to fab-up a new joiner. I will probably sandwich some aluminum between 1/8" aircraft ply