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Terry supplied me with more spar tube, so I had to remove the old ones. First I cut the tubes into sections to help remove them, then I heated each glue joint carefully with a heat gun. The glue loses its grip so that you can remove it and then gently twist the tube out. I took my time doing this - about 3 hours for both flap and aileron. Now I will have to glue in a new spar tube. As Homer would say, "DOH!"
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Next job was to fit the new spar tubes. I made a jig to hold the flap securely, then glued the tube to the capstrips. This was fairly easy, given the trailing edge was already in place.
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Once the glue had dried (24 hours) I prepared to fit the leading edge - trial fit the false ribs (a couple need shaping to fit over the hinges), lay out all the different pieces, then mix up some glue. As before, I fitted the false ribs first, waited for the glue to stiffen, then put the whole thing together, holding it in place with tape. When this is dry, I will cut the leading edge as with the ones on day 14. (Note: The aileron bellcrank is in the right position in this picture!)
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I have been asked about the glue - it's a two part Loctite Hysol adhesive. I use digital scales to weigh each tin, take out some glue, then weigh the tin again. This way I can ensure an accurate 1:1 ratio. This is mixed on a scrap piece of wood, then put into a regular plastic bag. I snip the corner off the bag and use it like a cake icing bag - after a little practice you can get neat results. Most jobs need (at most) 20 grammes of each part (40gm of glue) - it remains workable for about 40 minutes, depending on the temperature (the warmer the workshop, the less time you have!)
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I am surprised that this was my first real mistake, and I am glad it was repairable - a good reminder to read the manual five times before gluing anything! Next page