Wingtip damage repair

[dav8or 20]

I unfortunately slightly bent a wingtip while pulling my Avid speedwing into my new hangar. I am looking for ideas about how to repair this and also if anyone has pictures of a speedwing wingtip that is uncovered so I can see what I will be looking at if I have to tear the covering off would be great.

Thanks,

Dan

Edited 29 Aug 2018 by dav8or
pictures were not attached

[TJay 1041]

Maybe a small slide hammer with a hook similar to an oversize fishing hook then re shrink the fabric. Its worth a try but in the end the only way to straiten aluminum good is shrink or stretch it which is not possible with out fabric removal.

[Avid Bart 39]

Here is a picture of the inside of my wingtip. There is also a builders manual in the files section that might help.

You might be able to bend the tip down and reshrink the fabric, like TJay said.

[akflyer 1427]

that has the metal trailing edge.  you can straighten it out by hand and fly as is but it wont look perfect.  if you are one that has to have a show bird, the only way to fix it right is to strip it and replace that short section of the trailing edge.

[dav8or 20]

that has the metal trailing edge.  you can straighten it out by hand and fly as is but it wont look perfect.  if you are one that has to have a show bird, the only way to fix it right is to strip it and replace that short section of the trailing edge.

It is actually the cable trailing edge.

[dav8or 20]

Here is a picture of the inside of my wingtip. There is also a builders manual in the files section that might help.

You might be able to bend the tip down and reshrink the fabric, like TJay said.

 

That picture is a great help. It gives me an idea to try before I have to cut into the fabric. Thanks

[1avidflyer 1983]

The part that is bent can't hardly be cable.  What would keep it bent if it was just tight cable?  I'm sure it must be the aluminum trailing edge.  If you have the cable, do you have the scallops between the wings, (bat wings)  Here is a picture of my aluminum trailing edge, but unfortunately, you only see a little bit of the part that forms that part you bent.   JImChuk

[dav8or 20]

I do have the bat wings. I know it is cable. The part that bent is the tubing where the cable terminates. That tip caught on the hangar wall while pulling the plane backwards into the unfamiliar hangar. I was not used to maneuvering in a V-shaped hangar and stopped as soon as contact was made but it bent that tube slightly up and in towards the fuselage causing slack in the cable in that bay along with the distortions in the fabric. If I were completely stripping both wings to recover I would convert to the straight aluminum trailing edge.

Dan

[Avid Bart 39]

If you zoom in on the first picture, you can see the cable going through the top of the rib tail. It looks like the aluminum tube in the trailing part of the wing tip bent up and in. He might be able to bend the tube back down but if it bent in as well, there will be less tension on the wire and the whole wing trailing edge will be floppy. He will definitely need to check that before flying again.

[dav8or 20]

Another concern is with bending up or down. That is at the tip of the wing so if it is bent up or down more than before it will probably act like a big trim tab and cause a slight roll left or right when I let go of the stick. It already had a slight roll to the left so bending this tip down could make that worse. Of course I won't know until the first test flight after the repair. At least I will be on a 6000ft runway so I can land straight ahead if it is really bad.

[1avidflyer 1983]

Sorry, in the one picture, it looks like the aluminum tube coming out the back of the wing tip was still straight.  If that was the case, there would be no slack for a cable.  If it's bent in however, that's a different story.   Bummer either way.. How are your fabric covering skills?  JImChuk

Edited 30 Aug 2018 by 1avidflyer

[dav8or 20]

Fabric covering is a pain but I can do it. The custom paint is what I was trying not to mess up. The cable does tighten up when the tip is pulled down. Maybe that is the answer.

[1avidflyer 1983]

None of your pictures really show the end of the wing tip to really see if the aluminum tube goes up at the back.  The last picture makes it look like it's straight both ways.  Got any more pics?  JImChuk

[Avid Randy 50]

dav8or, Sorry to hear of your mishap.  Wish you the Best on your repair!

Jim, is that PVC pipe cut into clamp rings?  Pretty slick!  Cheers Randy

[dav8or 20]

I took these 3 pics real quick while I was at the hangar today. I will have to pull the plane out to get better shots. I am not sure if I will have time to get over there tomorrow or not. Maybe Friday. It also depends on the weather. We have been having daily storms and I believe they are supposed to continue tomorrow. I don't want to pull the Yankee out in the rain.

[1avidflyer 1983]

 

Jim, is that PVC pipe cut into clamp rings?  Pretty slick!  Cheers Randy

Sharp eye Randy.  Cheap and easy to make.  Some times they are just the thing.  I have a gallon bucket of them in different sizes.  Wasn't my idea but, I knew a good one when I saw it.  JImChuk

[Avid Randy 50]

I'd say!  I know what I'm going to do with some of my scrap pipe now!    Cheers Randy

[TJay 1041]

 

Jim, is that PVC pipe cut into clamp rings?  Pretty slick!  Cheers Randy

Sharp eye Randy.  Cheap and easy to make.  Some times they are just the thing.  I have a gallon bucket of them in different sizes.  Wasn't my idea but, I knew a good one when I saw it.  JImChuk

Ha I did the same thing with my 4.5" left over well casing last year. Got about 30 of them. Never have to many tools.

[dav8or 20]

I got a couple more pictures. Weather has not given me a break here to get anything out of the hangar so I pulled forward as much as I could.

I am going to try a small iron one more time before I start cutting. I am also going to set a 4' or 6' level across the tails of the ribs on both wings to compare and determine if it is bent upwards because it is still pretty hard to tell.

i also happen to have a pair of Kitfox fiberglass droop tips. I wonder how that would affect the performance of my Avid Speedwing. They look like they would fit although it would reduce span by a few inches.