Scale Soaring UK

One way of dealing with hinge removal (Robart pin type) is to use a sharpened brass tube slightly larger the than the diameter of the pin, attach it to a drill and do the biz...The resultant hole is neat and only slightly larger than the original, allowing for epoxy to make up the difference.

As to a Solartex equivalent, I still have some precious stock, so haven't had to find a substitute. (Smug mode) If the Rhonbussard is 1/4 scale, I would recommend using film for the flying surfaces, as this will make for a significant reduction in the AUW.

Thanks for the ideas about getting the pin hinges out - I will give them a go.

I will glass the fuselage - yours looks good Peter!

If I use film for the wings Chris, I guess I can't paint it?

Paul,
There was a response from Frank Skilbeck about alternatives to Solartex in another recent thread:
“Diatex or Diacov, Diatex is what they use to cover microlights, but needs an adhesive, Diacov is Diatex with an adhesive backing. Only comes in natural so you have to paint it.

You can buy Diacov from Sarik by the meter.”

Hope this helps.
Peter

Thanks Peter - I'll go and look it up!

Edit - Diacov 1000 ordered from Sarik, along with a proper iron (it's about time - I have been using the household iron for the last 40 years)!!

Finally got back to this, having been diverted to several other things (non modelling).

The wing is now repaired. I spliced new spruce into the sub spar top and bottom, and replaced the broken section of trailing edge. With new ribs and gussets, I am quite happy with the result:

I cut away the sheeting over the airbrake servo as I am concerned it is jamming. I will spend some time exploring if/why this is the case before deciding whether to do something about it such as replacing the servo / linkage.

The fuselage now has fewer holes. I have sheeted the nose section, and a couple of the holes in the tail fin.

I need to sheet the area around the wing seat, but I am considering if the current repair on the formers is good enough, or whether I need to add some thin doublers over the original breaks. Currently I have carbon tows on one side of the formers over the breaks. This area let go when it crashed last time, leading to the wing damage. I don't want to beef it up (I know where that path leads...!), but to return it to something close to its designed strength.

I am planning to use a light filler to smooth off the surface on most of the fuselage (lots of small dents and marks to cover up), taking care to avoid increasing the weight. I will then glass and paint it.

Peter Balcombe wrote: ↑28 Feb 2021, 13:39 I would certainly go for glassing the balsa fuselage skin. I did this on my 0.4mm ply skinned Oly & it toughened up the structure considerably. It also gave a good paint surface as shown below.

Good afternoon Peter - What weight of cloth do you recommend for the fuselage skinning? I am getting close to this stage, and want to buy it in ready!

Thanks!

Paul,
I used normal lightweight wing skinning type cloth (25gsm) so it doesn’t add much weight.

Thanks Peter - I’ll get some ready!