Why I recovered my wings

[C5Engineer 1170]

Short video I took of what my wings looked like when I got my bird. Don't worry I recovered them.

[akflyer 1427]

I spied a Zaggi in the back ground... you into RC to..  I am a total RC junky.  From 10 gram indoor to 40% and EVERY thing in between.  single cell lipoly to gassers.  Helis too oh, and boats shit cars and truggies too lol.  I bet if I could sell all the RC stuff I have, for what I have into it, I could buy 4 or 5 HH's with 912s in them... Kinda sick when I stop and think about it, but hey, he who dies with the most toys wins right

The fabric issue.. What was it painted with?  was that dope or aerothane?

I see alot of guys that hose the shit out of the fabric with paint and fill all the weave so it is a high gloss super slick finish.  That may be cool on a lancair or other composite plane, but on fabric it is a good way to have a shitty finish in just a few years.  The Stits manual warns against loading the paint on that way and for good reason.  You add a butt load of weight and make the paint ring worm just like yours is doing.  I know that some people only fly the planes on sunny days, keep them in a hangar and want to show them at oshkosh.  For those guys, more power to them.  ME, I know what I am going to be doing with this plane. Ease of field repairs was a MAJOR factor in choosing the stits and poly tone.  There is nothing you can screw up on the finish that a rag and acetone wont fix.  For fixing holes in the fabric from those pesky alders or sticks that get kicked up when landing on gravel barts and shit, it is a quick wipe with acetone, patch, poly brush, poly spray with a foam brush, and in about an hour or 2 you are back in the air with an airworthy repair.  Been there done that have the hat AND tee shirt.

Keep plugging away at the plane and you will be back inthe air in no time!

[84KF 4]

It's the year 2009. It's the 21'st century for Gods sake.

Stitts.    Does not support combustion.

DEMO: Take some of that nitrate/butyrate stuff, put it in an ashtray, and touch a match to it.  :flame: :flame: :flame:

[akflyer 1427]

It's the year 2009. It's the 21'st century for Gods sake.

Stitts.      Does not support combustion.

DEMO: Take some of that nitrate/butyrate stuff, put it in an ashtray, and touch a match to it.  :flame: :flame: :flame:

Crap, forgot to mention that one... That happens ALOT up here.. Guys will do a moose hunter stall and stuff a cub in.  They survive the crash, but burn up inthe fire afterwards.  I know of two recently that the guys buddies were in another plane, lnded and tried to get them out.. the fire was to intense so all they could do was listen to thier bud scream as they burned....  that was the one that really convinces me that stits was the way to go.  I will take any edge I can get to survive something dumb...

[84KF 4]

I used to work for a Twin-Beech operator and did a lot of fabric work on the control surfaces. All dacron, doped with nitrate and butyrate.

At the end of the day at the local pub, with pilots and mechanics sitting around adult beverages, I would quietly peel the dope film from my fingers and make a pile in an ashtray. Then, after telling the pilots that their aircraft was covered with this "stuff ", ...... light it up.   

Actually, the only reason for butyrate dope as a topcoat is because it is just a wee bit less flammable then nitrate, which bonds better...., and finishes beautifully. Nitrate that is...

[C5Engineer 1170]

I spied a Zaggi in the back ground... you into RC to..  I am a total RC junky.  From 10 gram indoor to 40% and EVERY thing in between.  single cell lipoly to gassers.  Helis too oh, and boats shit cars and truggies too lol.  I bet if I could sell all the RC stuff I have, for what I have into it, I could buy 4 or 5 HH's with 912s in them... Kinda sick when I stop and think about it, but hey, he who dies with the most toys wins right

The fabric issue.. What was it painted with?  was that dope or aerothane?

Keep plugging away at the plane and you will be back inthe air in no time!

It was covered in Aerothane. That stuff shrunk and any little bit of pressure would cause it to ring worm. Not to mention MEK and rejuvenator won't phase it. My fuse is still covered in it but I spliced in and recovered the the entire tail section. I didn't feel like totally dismantling the plane to put the fuse in a jig. The fabric on there is still decent. I'm hoping my insignia white butyrate matches it somewhat.

As far as the Zagi.. yup I'm pretty big into RC myself. We have a decent group of guys that do combat slope around here it's a blast taking each other out. It's actually harder than you would think to hit somebody. I also have a wide array of other crap in the garage. I don't fly much anymore but I charge the junk up once in a while.