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Phil.Taylor
Posted

Another F3F nose repair - but this ones an old-skool canopy style fus - A Rotmilan I acquired recently

Documenting it here in case its useful/interesting to anyone - let me know

Clean break across a previous repair - done with carbon & kevlar - messy. Canopy style can usually be repaired just from the inside - but this one has a very solidly fixed servo tray & ballast tube in the way - so the repair will be partly internal & mostly external.

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Phil.Taylor
Posted

First job - file off the kevlar from the previous repair - horrible stuff.

Then - re-align the nose & fus back together - easy cos of the previous repair - fitted together well - tape tightly together with masking tape. Thin cyano into the cracks from the inside to hold it together.

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  • Like 1
Phil.Taylor
Posted

Next - 10x0.5mm carbon strips - roughed up well - epoxied along & beyond the canopy edges - which is the weak point of a canopy style fus. Full-strength old-fashioned slow set Araldite - left overnight. Also some epoxy internally across the break to cover missing bits.

Morning - bit of a trim & tidy up with a sharp knife - looking good & feels solid. Will leave to set solidly for a few days before the next bit - which will be a classic "grind away across the break & feather the edges & lay in carbon/epoxy & trim back the outside when set"

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  • Like 3
wookman
Posted

Nice work, as ever. You have gone all retro on us Phil!

Phil.Taylor
Posted
3 hours ago, wookman said:

Nice work, as ever. You have gone all retro on us Phil!

Haha

Just picked up a carload of really retro stuff from an ebay sale - including an original Airjet/Carrera Sagitta - unbuilt - boxed - super rare!

  • Like 4
Phil.Taylor
Posted

HaHa - I see that eagle eyes have spotted that - thanks for the "likes" - so I've started a thread about the Sagitta in the slope soaring section

Phil

Phil.Taylor
Posted

Just done the hard work bit - sanding back across the break - nice shallow "U" profile for the new carbon & epoxy. Mostly done with rough 80 grade wrapped around a half-round file. Its the first time I've done one with kevlar in the layup - horrible stuff - doesnt sand cleanly, fluffs up. All masked up ready for the messy sticky carbon & epoxy bit.

Phil.

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oipigface
Posted

Kevlar behaves better, Phil, if you soak it in thin cyano before sanding. It's still not fun, but it's better. Try not to inhale the fumes!

Phil.Taylor
Posted

Carbon & epoxy laid up - 2x layers of fairly heavy carbon - then all wrapped up. I've found that a piece of Tesco plastic bag over the carbon & epoxy helps to keep things tidy - then wrapped very tightly with masking tape.

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Unwrapped - Tesco plastic bag comes away very cleanly. Very happy with that lot - will be left somewhere warm to fully cure for about a week before sanding back.

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  • Like 2
John Minchell
Posted

Easy Composites do a flat tape which can be spiral wound around a boom and then heat shrunk as well.  Starts at £3.60 for a 10m roll.  And the CF fishing rod repair kits have everything you need to do this type of repair.

John M

  • Like 1
Phil.Taylor
Posted
1 hour ago, John Minchell said:

Easy Composites do a flat tape which can be spiral wound around a boom and then heat shrunk as well.  Starts at £3.60 for a 10m roll.  And the CF fishing rod repair kits have everything you need to do this type of repair.

John M

Found it - this stuff

https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/composites-shrink-tape

Will give this a try

Phil.

oipigface
Posted

Good find, John!

John Minchell
Posted

It helps that they are only a few miles away from me so I can nip in and pick up supplies and save postal costs as I drive by there fairly regularly.  There is also a brilliant set of training / how to videos on their website too.

John M

Phil.Taylor
Posted

First attempt with the Esycomposites shrink tape - boom repair. Its good stuff - very easy to use - thanks John for finding this.

Most of the work is done by a careful tight wrap - after starting it with a piece of masking tape to hold it in place - and at the end. I tried a hair dryer on it to shrink it - didnt seem to do much.

Phil.

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John Minchell
Posted

Phil I have also tried a hair dryer and not much happened, so I swapped to a hot air gun as per shrinking solarfilm/Profilm and that works fine.  Just got to be careful not to heat the boom up too much as it will go soft.

Just need to be careful you use the shrink tape the right way round as only one side has the release agent on it.  See the fishing rod repair video.

John M

  • Like 1
Phil.Taylor
Posted

Both repairs sanded back - looking good - flyable as they are - bit of filler & paint to make them nice

Phil.

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  • Like 2

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