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What to do with panel seams


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I am reinstalling my flaps cable and have to reassemble the interior a bit.  the floor pans had duct tape on the seams but it is old.  Could I use the metal tape they use for furnaces?  The plastic panels are also in rough shape.  Can I make new ones out of fiberglass?   Last question When the yoke is neutral the aileron on the right is flush with the wing the left aileron is pitched down.  how do you level that?

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We used the metal furnace duct tape over seams.  It works much better than regular duct tape.  There is a technique for repairing the plastic panels, it can probably be found here using the search feature.  

Here is one:  

 

 

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45 minutes ago, Dream to fly said:

The plastic panels are also in rough shape.  

The is a way to "weld" plastic.  I learned it and have used it successfully on my panels.  Depending on how bad they are.   In haven't made a video on how to do this, but I will soon.  It's done using a soldering iron.  Melt it just enough to make the 'stacked dime' look.  The "weld" turns out stronger then the surrounding plastic.  The front side can be filled and painted.  Practice on a plastic paint tray or something.  

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One of the biggest air leaks into the cabin comes from missing duct tape.

The wing roots have a small piece of curved aluminum sheet  to act as a fillet(?).  Behind that riveted wonder, is a duct tape seal.

Mine didn't last 40years...

Somebody posted pictures of how to remove and replace the sheet metal fillet and the duct tape solution too...

Everybody should take the interior panels (where the wings are) off at least once to get a look see of what's behind them...

1) rubber fuel line connector...

2) fuel level sensor and seal...

3) decades of crud hiding out.

4) blue globs left from expensive fuel evaporating out...

5) get a good view from the inside where the wing meets the fuselage...

A good exercise for an 'annual' project...

Best regards,

-a-

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54 minutes ago, Dream to fly said:

When the yoke is neutral the aileron on the right is flush with the wing the left aileron is pitched down.  how do you level that?

The procedure for rigging the ailerons is in the service manual.  The best way is the travel boards, and those will get you to the factory specs.  However; I did mine by the 'adjust and fly' method.  With the flat wingtips you can use the counterweight to figure out where they should be.  Following the procedure in the manual, I got mine wired pretty close.  It flies hands off now.  It was not that way when I got her.

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There is a procedure for making a paste using a solvent and similar plastic to our interior panels.

I believe our panels are made of ABS.

I just can't recall the resource for the solvent and ABS pellets... somebody had posted here a while ago...

It can probably be found under ABS solvent gluing...

Best regards,

-a-

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Just now, Guitarmaster said:

The procedure for rigging the ailerons is in the service manual.  The best way is the travel boards, and those will get you to the factory specs.  However; I did mine by the 'adjust and fly' method.  With the flat wingtips you can use the counterweight to figure out where they should be.  Following the procedure in the manual, I got mine wired pretty close.  It flies hands off now.  It was not that way when I got her.

That is how I noticed it being off.  the counter weights are not flush.  so I need to adjust them so they are even

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Just now, Dream to fly said:

That is how I noticed it being off.  the counter weights are not flush.  so I need to adjust them so they are even

Procedure in a nutshell:

Clamp the yokes together and center them with each other.

Disconnect the ailerons.

Clamp the ailerons to be level with the wing skin.

Adjust the flaps to match the ailerons.

Reattach the ailerons

Now... when the plane flies, the ailerons will "blow up" in flight, so when attaching the ailerons I found I needed to rig them with about one turn of droop with no load.  Another method is to have you and a friend push up on the ailerons, after re-connecting them, to take the slop out and see where you are at.

Go fly the airplane and see what it wants to do.  Does it roll?  Does it roll when the flaps are deployed?  Flaps down and flaps up are different adjustments.  

If the plane doesn't fly S&L with hands off, hold the wings level with feet on floor and see which way it wants to turn.  Once the ailerons and flaps are zeroed, and it won't fly straight, nearly always the problem is in the rudder rigging.  If you have every done R/C airplanes, this is no different.  

The above procedure is somewhat truncated..  I am not an A&P but I did work with one while doing this while following the manual.  If you don't have one already, get a service manual.  

IMHO, the travel boards are not necessary.  Others will disagree.  My plane flies fast and hands off.  

 

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2 hours ago, Dream to fly said:

@Guitarmaster, Thanks.  My ailerons are so far off.  that I can see more than half the counter weight on one side when the other is flush and level. 

You probably already understand that disconnecting/adjusting/reconnecting the aileron push pull rods is not included as owner allowed PM. You'll need an A&P sign off at the least.  

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58 minutes ago, Bob_Belville said:

You probably already understand that disconnecting/adjusting/reconnecting the aileron push pull rods is not included as owner allowed PM. You'll need an A&P sign off at the least.  

LOL.  Already made the call to the A&P and have an appointment for the 24th;)

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13 hours ago, carusoam said:

There is a procedure for making a paste using a solvent and similar plastic to our interior panels.

I believe our panels are made of ABS.

I just can't recall the resource for the solvent and ABS pellets... somebody had posted here a while ago...

It can probably be found under ABS solvent gluing...

Best regards,

-a-

M.E.K. is the best solvent for making ABS glue.

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By the time I am done rebuilding this plane several things are going to have happened. 

- I will be old and gray

- I will have become proficient in repairing plastic aluminum and steel.

- I will have re invented the swear word list

- And finally I will have a bird I will be too scared to fly for fear of damaging it after all this work. 

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Does it fly straight?  May also check for binding of the wing leveler servos...   They are in near the wing tips.   3m Aluminum tape from homer dan to seal things.   decomposed duct tape can hold moisture

There is also a fuel hose behind the panels.... I went with if it anit broke don't fix it

 

Edited by Yetti
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4 hours ago, Yetti said:

Does it fly straight?  May also check for binding of the wing leveler servos...   They are in near the wing tips.   3m Aluminum tape from homer dan to seal things.   decomposed duct tape can hold moisture

There is also a fuel hose behind the panels.... I went with if it anit broke don't fix it

 

If it ain't broke It needs to get broke so I can convince the wife I need to modify it to " make it better " :P

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The process is:

1) Rebuild the airplane completely so you know where everything is, what the parts are and what they do

2) By more tools than you need so you will have what you need when you need it

3) By more hardware than you need for the same reason in #2

4) Fix everything once, so you now know the best way to work on the airplane when it is together recognizing that nothing is as accessible in the same way as when it was apart and being rebuilt.

John Breda

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10 hours ago, M20F-1968 said:

The process is:

1) Rebuild the airplane completely so you know where everything is, what the parts are and what they do

2) By more tools than you need so you will have what you need when you need it

3) By more hardware than you need for the same reason in #2

4) Fix everything once, so you now know the best way to work on the airplane when it is together recognizing that nothing is as accessible in the same way as when it was apart and being rebuilt.

John Breda

I will have to explain this to my wife

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On 7/14/2017 at 7:22 AM, Dream to fly said:

@Guitarmaster, Thanks.  My ailerons are so far off.  that I can see more than half the counter weight on one side when the other is flush and level. 

That seems quite excessive.  You may have to do more than rig the ailerons.  Is the ball centered? You may need some rudder rigging too.  I would also check that your gear are completely up and gear doors are flush.  Also, check that your step is going up.  These can all contribute to rigging problems.  Most important, make sure your flaps start off rigged and even.  Some folks use them to trim the aircraft, but done wrong, it can lead to what you describe.  Take some baseline performance numbers, proper rigging can be one of the most cost effective speed mods.....way under-appreciated.

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