100's Of Pounds Down The Drain

Or

Taffy's Broken Glider Put To Another Use

OK you have just launched your beloved moulded glider on the winch. On the ping the wingskin on the inner panel delaminates and the whole thing shakes itself to bits. (CRY CRY) You get what is left to the ground (CRY CRY) put it in a black binbag and take it home. What's left, one whole tip panel and one broken tip panel, have a good couple of beers CRY a lot and go off to bed.
After a few days or weeks a bright idea springs to mind. Convert what's left into a 60" slope model, but the panels are 31.5" long. No problem now that the plane is wrecked anyway. Put them straight on the BANDSAW and cut 1.5" off each root. Next thing is to fix the broken tip panel (Joiner box pulled out and the wing skin broken from the LE back to the spar).
Fixing time. First thing I did was to superglue the box back into place (easy). Now about the skin damage. Superglue as well, but that's not too strong so get some FOAM FILLER as used by the building trade and squirt a small amount into the damaged area. Wow does it expand a lot, so much so that the skin started to bulge, quickly get a hot piece of piano wire and put a hole through the middle, gently pushing the wing skin back into place. In the traditional cooking fashion leave to stand (Keeping an eye on it) the skin is now rock hard. Place some glass cloth over the damage and blend back in.
OK it's joiner box time. Just hack the skin off from above the break and lay in loads of carbon repeating for the otherside of the wing. Rub back, blend in and hey presto it's stronger than when new (Touch heavier admittedly but bloody strong).
Three more jobs to go. First make the joiner (in my case from teak because that's what could be acquired) and the lumps of wood that the wing bolts are going to go through (also from teak). Secondly glue the bits in the right places and join. Thirdly put three different sizes of bandage around the middle and make smart. Hey Presto a 60" slope wing.

FINALLY find out that they have changed the rules so that 60" competition models now have to have FOAM leading edges and FOAM most places important. But what the hell you can still thrash around the local slope with it and use it in F3F, if you so desire.

Richard Yates