What to do? Tough decisions...

[Andrew Hathaway]

About 14 years ago I started building a Magnum.  It went together very quickly and then we moved.  I lost interest and it wasn't coming out how I wanted so I hung it up and forgot about it.  As it sits right now its ready to be finished.  It's not too bad, light, fairly straight, etc. 
I've either finished or thrown away every other project I've had going for this length of time and I don't know what to do with this one. 

I'm not happy with the epoxolite fillets, the foam core stab, or the bond between the wing cores and the sheeting.  The way I see it I have two choices.  Finish it and fly it, discard it if it doesn't work.  Or discard it now and save the time and effort of finishing it and trimming it only to find out it doesn't work. 

Advice?

[Bill Little]

Andrew,
You can do like some did years ago.  Get a fuel proof finish on it, and test fly it.  Then, if it shows promise, you can doll it up!  A base color, fuel proof is all you need to see if it's going to be worth putting a "nice" finish on it.

If it does do well, just clean it thoroughly like you were doing a repair and put on the trim and clear!

I would hate to throw away something that looked that good, plus Magnums are great flying planes!

[Randy Powell]

While I know that it's tough to tell from a photo, it looks pretty good from here. If you don't like the fillets, grind 'em off and do them again (I'd use PolyFiber SuperFil). If you are concerned about the bond between the cores and sheeting, then either inject a bit of glue into the questionable areas (can be done with a syringe and vet needle) or cut out the center section behind where the spar would be and insert ribs.

Most things can be fixed. It just depends on how much effort you're willing to put in. The Magnum is a very decent flying plane. It's proably worth the effort.

[RC Storick]

  Now this is only me. I would if I didn't like it give it to some deserving flier locally and let them play with it. I have a plane on my wall that has 6 flights on it and I will not fly it again. My friends say fix it I say its easer to build a new one. (safer in some instances)

[Ted Fancher]

The woodwork looks excellent in the pic.  I understand your frustration with fillets (been there, done that).  Be very careful if you try to grind the epoxolite out.  You simply can't ding the wing sheeting at the fuse joint.  I'd be very tempted to use one of the now available puttys like Randy mentioned and simply make the fillets big.  The new stuff is so light that weight simply isn't an issue (except for Sparky).  Putting a nice smooth layer of the stuff over the epoxolite that's driving you nuts will be simpler, look OK, and not risk damaging the wing sheet that is the only real source of spanwise strength in that foam wing.

Ted

[john e. holliday]

Andrew, if you don't want to mess with it, bring it to the Iowa contest or Topeka and I will take it off your hands.  But, also after seeing what you have been restoring and working on I would say follow Teds advice and finish it.  That picture of it shows you have done some great work on it.  Another thing, Magnums are getting hard to find.  Later, DOC Holliday

[the original Steve Smith]

Bob,

Which plane you talkin' about?