Repairing Plastic Fuselage on Glider

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Repairing Plastic Fuselage on Glider

Postby indianaflyer » Sat Jun 16, 2012 3:24 pm

I have a Lanyu Evolution 2-in-1 electric glider. The wings are epo foam but the fuselage is a molded plastic. I lost orientation last week and my glider took a nose dive onto the ground. This caused the top of the fuselage, from the canopy to the nose, to split apart. I need to know what is the best way to reconnect the fuselage. It came apart at the seems and only at the nose. I only need to fix three inches or so. I tried foam tac glue and shoe goo but they did not work. I also tried an epoxy made for plastic and that did not hold the seem together either. I'm starting to think my only choice is to fiberglass the nose but I've never used Fiberglass before. Any recommendations on how to fix this?

Thanks
indianaflyer
 
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Re: Repairing Plastic Fuselage on Glider

Postby quarry44 » Sat Jun 16, 2012 10:02 pm

It depends what type of plastic it is.I would try medium cyano first.If that doesn't stick,the fuz maybe ABS,in which case i would use the glue used on plastic house guttering.If possible,sand the mating surfaces first.
if that doesn't work,you may need to lay a 3/4" to 1" wide strip of lightweight fibreglass cloth over the join,and put a dab of thin cyano at each corner to hold the strip in place.Once dry,flood the surface of the strip with cyano,or well thinned epoxy.(use epoxy thinners or rubbing alcohol).It won't be pretty,but should hold the seam together.
If all that still fails,your only option might be to use the re-inforced f/g tape around the whole fuz area where it's split.I mean wrapping it around sideways.This tape is available at most hardware places,but it ain't cheap.Then again,a roll will last a long time.
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Re: Repairing Plastic Fuselage on Glider

Postby indianaflyer » Tue Jun 26, 2012 1:07 am

Well, I used fiberglass for the first time and my nose is rock solid now. My motor is mounted rock solid too. Before my big crash the motor was very silent wile flying. Once up in the air and a little away it was hard to tell if the motor was on or not because there was no/very little sound. After my first crash the motor engine sound became very loud. Now that I've fiberglassed the nose and the motor mount, the motor is very silent again.
indianaflyer
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2012 2:23 am

Re: Repairing Plastic Fuselage on Glider

Postby quarry44 » Tue Jun 26, 2012 6:15 am

Well done,indi,you've now learned another skill!Now go forth and aviate 8-)
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