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Post by Ron Stuart on Nov 4, 2014 21:05:18 GMT -4
Last week in an ill-advised solo flight sans instructor or coach, my E-flite Apprentice 15e suffered a broken fuselage just forward of the tail section. Is foam-safe C the recommended adhesive to effect the repair? The material is Z-Foam and it's a nice clean break. Thanks. Ron.
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daver
Members
Posts: 2,268
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Post by daver on Nov 5, 2014 6:16:49 GMT -4
Not sure, I know 5 minute epoxy would work, but you'd want to apply lightly, and check CG after.
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Post by coyote on Nov 5, 2014 6:38:46 GMT -4
Try the glue on on a very small section first to make it is foam safe
It it works, then do it
Depending where break is and the structure, you may want to insert a carbon fibre rod or very small wooden dowel. Normally not required, depends where break is
A good guy for foamies is Yorcram (Marc). He might provide you some hints
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Post by yorcram on Nov 5, 2014 9:06:08 GMT -4
You need to use regular medium CA on z-foam (elopar foam).Med CA is what I used to build my Multiplex fun cub. for any crushed parts, hot water will help it return to normal. Look on youtube for video on repairing crushed foam.. It may casue a little 'aligator skin' affect but the parts will bounce back to normal.
Cheers, Marc
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cf105
Gold Member
My airplane is balanced, so I don't have to be...
Posts: 130
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Post by cf105 on Nov 8, 2014 16:58:58 GMT -4
CA will work, but I'd actually suggest Gorilla Glue or even Foam-Tac. Foam has a lot of flex, something that CA lacks.
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Post by coyote on Nov 8, 2014 18:18:34 GMT -4
Careful w Gorilla glue though, in my experiences you need to hold parts together until glue sets hard. Gorilla glue (brownish) tends to bubble out while it dries - it expands.
If the parts are not taped tight together or held tight then the glue expansion will actually push the parts apart. You can mitigate some of this by spraying a little water on the glue
At least this was my experience
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rob
Instructor
Posts: 207
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Post by rob on Nov 8, 2014 19:22:11 GMT -4
I used epoxy on the park zone Trojan and Mustang, both are made of Z-foam. Never re-broke on an epoxy joint and god knows it should have as my first Trojan was lawn darted several times.
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cf105
Gold Member
My airplane is balanced, so I don't have to be...
Posts: 130
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Post by cf105 on Nov 8, 2014 19:49:31 GMT -4
Careful w Gorilla glue though, in my experiences you need to hold parts together until glue sets hard. Gorilla glue (brownish) tends to bubble out while it dries - it expands. If the parts are not taped tight together or held tight then the glue expansion will actually push the parts apart. You can mitigate some of this by spraying a little water on the glue At least this was my experience Good point! However... it's moisture that causes Gorilla Glue to expand. Spraying a bit of water on it will speed up the process. But yeah; the parts have to be immobilized. It's really handy when you need to fill some gaps though. Epoxy certain does the trick, but tends to add more weight. It's also nasty stuff, so wear nitrile (NOT latex!) gloves with working with it.
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Post by coyote on Nov 8, 2014 21:12:02 GMT -4
I also have used epoxy on my Funcub and it worked well. As mentioned, just be careful on application - it can be messy and weight is another factor (as mentioned above).
We all know if you use epoxy in a balsa plane, parts will not come apart. That said, a little known fact, if you use epoxy in a balsa plane, you can use a heat gun on the epoxy (carefully) and the epoxy will soften enough that you should be able to remove the damaged parts. I have used this procedure successfully on several occasion on my planes and on the club's trainers.
Just be careful when applying the heat gun as not to damage covering or electronics due to heat.
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