Topic: Fixer upper project wanted

As
1) I cant afford a new mouldie at the mo
2) I like fixing them
3) I think I'm more likely to max it if it was a fixer upper

I thought I would ask if anyone have a mouldie in there workshop that they had planned to fix but never got around to and knows they never will
anything from a 60" to a 3m
as long as it is not a 2m sports model (unless its a vector III)
If its in pieces postage should not be to much of a prob

Fuse in two
wings in half (where there not meant to be lol)
that sort of thing
a black bin liner of yellow dust might be a bit out of my league

I can't help you at the moment Allen (must crash more?), but good luck 

Get some foam, build hot wire bow, vac bag set-up and design/build your own mouldy 

I'm at the middle stage at the mo, I have a design thats built in foam and tested, now I gotta take the bold step into vac bagging.

I've really enjoyed the adventure so far and if I get this vac bag lark going I dont seem me buying another plane for quite a while 

wouldn't that be called a "baggy" ? 

The trouble with biulding your own when you dont have vac bag set up, foam, bow, enough cloth or resin
is it cost more that a new one
I would love to do it, and it is on my  (when i move to a house with enough space) List
but I am going for cheap

Ie she wont notice amount of money and when it turns up all smashed i can say it was given to me  

As
1) I cant afford a new mouldie at the mo
2) I like fixing them
3) I think I'm more likely to max it if it was a fixer upper

I thought I would ask if anyone have a mouldie in there workshop that they had planned to fix but never got around to and knows they never will
anything from a 60" to a 3m
as long as it is not a 2m sports model (unless its a vector III)
If its in pieces postage should not be to much of a prob

Fuse in two
wings in half (where there not meant to be lol)
that sort of thing
a black bin liner of yellow dust might be a bit out of my league

Your criteria pretty well match mine. That is how I ended up getting my recently flown Skorpion. It had some wing damage, particularly one joiner box, delamination of the other wing root and some "crunchie" bits on the fuselage but with patience and some effort it is back in the air.

I enjoyed the repair work (mostly) and I now have a fairly competitive racer (which I need to learn to fly accurately) and it is much easier to "fly it like you stole it" when you don't have £1000s tied up in it!

Good luck.

George
 

Well Allen, aint got one at the moment that fits your bill dude, but I may do in the near future... 

So will keep you in mind!

Best regards

George

Allen, there are so many guys out there with the same thoughts as you...you have to be in the right place at the right time (watching someone screw in) then pounce, an put in an offer before they recover from the trama.
Once recovery has ensued, most ship of their broken toys to Mr Fu for him to provide the awsome task of ...its been FU'd, they then fly it as though they have stolen it 

Allen, there are so many guys out there with the same thoughts as you...you have to be in the right place at the right time (watching someone screw in) then pounce, an put in an offer before they recover from the trama.
Once recovery has ensued, most ship of their broken toys to Mr Fu for him to provide the awsome task of ...its been FU'd, they then fly it as though they have stolen it  

well there was no halm in asking
and i have had a few PMs 

I think you're vastly over estimating the cost of setting up your own hot wire/vac system. Nearly all my stuff I've gathered from around the house/friends at no cost.

Ok but i still have the problem that my only workshop is a 8x6 shed full of mower, deck chairs, tools, paint, the list goes on in fact there is just enough room in there to get two feet in
and new workshop = more land = new house
very expensive
i can get away with a refurb as i have a spare bedroom that my weekend kids stay in to 24 hour drying can be done in there as long as there is no mess

i am the same 10x10 shed and childminding and ofsted in the house 

i am the same 10x10 shed and childminding and ofsted in the house 

  What! You have got a 10 x 10 shed in your house?

at my house

Who lives in a 10X10 shed 

 

I have a Brusch vac pump, adjustable, proper job and it'll go on forever, I needed it for my business, so it got paid for.  I only do stuff for myself now.

1. There is a cheaper system on the market using a compressor type pump (Machine Mart, Clarks etc) it swings the vane around and creates a vacuum on the other side, not as efficient but they work well, particularly with lower vacuums such as you may need with a foam shape.
2. I use polythene tubing, it is cheap this way, you buy it by the weight.  I think my stuff is 250 micron thick, 650mm wide and I get 60+m for about £40 or so?  Buy it at most polythene (bags) suppliers, firms buy it this way, using a heat source to cut and seal.
3. Use clear reinforced hose and gas piping connections for the connection to the bag.
4. I use brown parcel tape to seal the bag ends and duck tape for the tube/bag connection with a large washer either side.
5.  Peel ply and then rolled up kitchen cloth (rolled up paper towel around the lamination will wick the air out to the vac pump tube) as a breather material, it also soaks up excess resin.

There I'm giving away all the secrets, you don't have to spend a lot to do vacuum bagging  at home.  Better just get back to my shed workshop and check some resin (OK OK it is a 'shed' but a rather nice one!)  :colm:

Cheers
Mark

Other cheapo vac options, find a place that repairs fridges and they might have an old compressor you can have or get on the cheap (fridge compressors suck as well as blow apparently), you can adapt medical nebulisers and get them cheap too.

I only know this because we're having the same conversations in my building thread over on RCG.


I think the main problem with all this stuff is taking that bold step into the unknown and actually giving it a go, that is certainly the hurdle for me, but now I have a design that works I need to do it justice and get some glass on her... so I'm being pushed by my own creation... weird.

Just moved to a new place this week and stuck my elbows out, gritted my teeth and claimed a massive four car garage for the purpose of setting up as a workshop for modelling! :colm: Next issue is scrounging together all the bits and pieces needed to set up a decent workshop. (and stopping the wife and motherinlaw from filling it full of rubb... Clothes, shoes, boxes, etc)

Looking forward to getting building

Clayton

Hi Allen,
Sorry for straying off topic a little and I didn't mean to brag about my size!
I am in the same boat as you with regard to F3F (and everything else) and have gone through the same thinking about build verses repair. I am still on the lookout for something to repair and am also planning to build my own planes from scratch. I have had to start modelling from scratch since moving to the UK as immigration control and freight costs meant leaving everything in Australia.
I found the people you meet at the slopes to be generally helpful in pointing you in directions (right or wrong!)
best of luck with finding a writeoff!

Clayton

Must have been heart-wrenching to leave everything in Oz..

On the subject of fixing up why not build? I wouldn't even try to compete with cnc'ed wings, but(!) I have just ordered a set of 2.7m wings, shaped and obechi covered, from F*&*w*&gs.co.uk for very few squid (46), I can do the rest! Value or what?  This is a winter project encouraged by 'er indoors' to get out of the house and find something to do(!), so my shed workshop is to be insulated .  12X10 of pleasure, those inches make all the difference.  What more could we want in life?  Well, OK, that and er yes, that as well and maybe.....
M

I think I may have myself the perfect fixer upper, but i am waiting for pics of damage and a price, so i won't tempt fate by saying to much
but if i get it i will post the damage here to get advice on the repairs as i am expecting it to be bad 

It's not that Ceres Lift again is it 

no its a vector 3 for £100 but i have no idea how bad it is yet 

Dave in 10x10

thanks didnot khow you had that 

Am about to bit off more that i can chew?
Advice wanted even if it's give it back

how's ths spar?  that tail looks a bit tricky.

send it to tony fu??? 

spars are broke

did it come with radio gear?


did he pay you?   

id send it back .......is there 200 quids worth of pain and anguish in it .......

nightmare 

Did it come with servo's?  If not I recon 100 chucks is a bit much for it.

But I'd say more than repairable...

One piece of advice I have for home repairs, I've done a few over the years is that my philosophy is just to get a knackered plane back together and strang enough to max out once again.  I never strive for the showroom finish as thats the bit I'm not capable of  

CM

That'll repair ok Allen, like the Doc says, don't fuss about a showroom finish

The first brand new mouldie I ever bought looked like just like that once I got it out of the very creased box it arrived in

it looks properly ronnied tbh!

If you're going to repair it yourself I see no problem.
My own Vek got spanked (although not as comprehensively as that one!) and I sent it to the Fumeister. I did'nt have the time or inclination.
Im now in the process of respraying it. Had I researched the cost of paint I would have flogged the wreck and bought a new one.
Seriously, the cost of repairs, and paint will break even with the value of a new airframe.
If you can carry out the repairs yourself that's a wodge saved.
If you could get it repainted on the cheap you'll be quids in too. Frickin rattle tins are £6 a pop now And a decent respray uses well over 10 tins all said and done.
Certainly a project to learn the arts of composite repair.
Good luck with it Allen, I hope she comes up square and shiny.

I would'nt pay a ton for it though. 50 is fair.

Ten tins!! Sounds like you're not prepping that very well mate! Years ago I resprayed an entire fairing set for a motorcycle with 2 cans of primer, and 2 cans of colour.

Z

10 is a lot but he does make a valid point about the cost of paint. for one off jobs, it is very expensive.

Well, there's fixer-up-projects - and there's bin-it projects
bin it

Phil.