Plane looks good! Sorry things did not turn out well.  I know the kit has some sentimental value to you.  Keep working at it and maybe you can get it trimmed. 

It is unusual that your covering is having problems.

Alan

The plane really looked nice, and I wish it had been good to go.

The problem with the wing is an almost span long twist of the rear of the wing.  It took some looking at odd angles to see the problem.  On the first flight, the wing tip was about three inches high, and it almost fell in on him in a loop, never got it inverted.  A flap tweak and some more wing tip weight made it good enough for Aaron to get it inverted.  The outboard tip was high upright, low inverted.  I have no clue as to how the twist/warp got in there, Aaron used a flat table that many wings have come off of.  The major problem right now is that the whole wing needs to be recovered!  The silkspan is hopeless, it just splits if you look at it.  And there was plasticizers in the dope.

Later, we will cut off the covering, strip the wing to bare wood, steam out the twist/warp and recover.  No time right now!

Big Bear

Thats a really great looking model Aaron!  I know Willis would be delighted to see it completed.
Just out of curiousity, what was the finish on the model?  All dope?

I know stripping the silkspan off the wings and tail would be a horrendous pain, but it might be worth it to try it sometime and see if the plane can indeed be fixed.

Yeah it was dope and some type of laquer.
I had patched it about 4 maybe 5 times from the first time I covered it.
The last patch coming as tape at the field after the first flight.

We are thinking about doing something like that at some point but it is going to be a while I just don't have a lot of extra time so I try to use it as best I can

Aaron

Alan you are so in for it now.  The coach will probably make you do laps or sit ups.

Aaron,  I do hope you strip the wings and recover it just in honor for Willis.  Use the tea kettle and steam the wing to get the warp out.  I know you will think this is heresy, but get some SLC iron on covering from the Core house and cover the wing.  Use a foam scouring pad and scrub the SLC until it is dull.  Don't use water.  Use it dry. Prime the wing and a light sanding.  Then the color and graphics.  Top coat of clear.  You will need fewer coats to finish.  I do love the looks of the plane. 

looks nice , did you use butrate dope ? gasses of for centries .

A few planks and bricks help.But it normally comes back for the first few years .
Then suddenly one day it stays straight . I block & pack to twist wing severly opposite.
QUITELY as in dont force it, applied slowly theyll tist a fair way , 7 leave for a week + .

That's a really nice clean looking T-Bird Aaron. It'll take some work, but it sounds like you can fix it. As a suggestion, it would really be worth your time to get the hang of using Polyspan. It's a little tricky to get used to at first, but it's LOT tougher than silkspan and is really not any heavier. Covered with it your models will hold up over time and mileage much much better.

 There are some good Polyspan tips and suggestions right here:

 http://stunthanger.com/smf/index.php?topic=19407.0

Hello, we have used polyspan many times, I used it on my Geo Bolt (Geo XL with P47 wing) that we finished I think for 2003 or maybe 2004.
I also used it when I recoverd my 59 Ares.
Dad and I have discussed this a few times and we are going to be using Polyspan from here out.
I think at the time the idea was just to use the kit as it came.

That polyspan is pretty darn good stuff, it will rip but not like this silkspan did.

Either way I didn't break it up and throw it away, I just decided that for now I will keep it in one piece and when time permits get it out and work on it.

As a side note, I had wanted to put some green on it as well so if a re-finish is due I may be bringing the green out as well

ACETONE and paper towels and you can strip that model in no time. Soak a towel with the acetone and rub it on. The finish will come right off. Keep at it. You will be back to bare wood in no time. It will not hurt the plane because acetone evaporates very quickly. WARNING Acetone will ignite very easily so be careful. The fumes are not all that bad but a mask will filter them out if you wish. Good Luck

Now it seems that #1 son would like for me to get out the Dremel and timing wheel............ !

Can be done..........

Big Bear

Randy Ryan showed a plane a while back that he used Dad's Stripper on. It cleaned it right down to the wood really nice. I sure would give it a try.

Hey Bill; So you guys already know about that stuff. I am going to have to try it one of these days on a my old Viking that has a warp and bad silkspan on it. I am kind of wondering after hearing Aaron's problem, if it just might be the silkspan that is shrinking weird and causing the warp and breaks both. My Viking seems to split the span every time I fly it in cool weather. It seems ok when it is above 75 degrees.

I like green on my planes also. I just bought a qt. of bright green Sig dope at the hobby shop that had been sitting on the shelf for a few years. He sold it to me for $10.95. You just can't pass up bargains like that. Sooo! I will probably have a lot of planes with at least green trim.  Great looking T-Bird by the way.

 

Great looking T-Bird , agreed . indeed .

Mine had a mind of its own too , alignment wise .
Finally settled and sombody used a forkhoist to assult it .

Might Jig build the wing on the next .   

HI Matthew,

Aaron built the wing per the instructions which used balsa scraps here and there to block things up level, and pin everything to the table.  Several models built on the same table with same method and came out straight.  This one seemed to suffer from the covering adding a twist.  The outboard tip turned down a slight bit from the end of the flap on out.  Neither of us saw that before it was covered and painted, and we looked hard..

It will get fixed.  Next time, SLC will go over the open bays with a covering of silkspan over that.  His Oriental in undergoing an engine swap right now.

Big Bear

I had a Tbird in ancient times with a bad warp. I had to slit the planking and one spar to correct it. It did work.

Thanks, Phil.

Steaming the wing should take care of it.  Just no time lately to work on that model.  We have since cut up the nose of his Oriental and put a new engine in it.  it's working much better now, so Classic/Nos. 30 is covered for now.

Big Bear