wingtip replacement, Eaglet has crashed

kakkenmc · Post by **kakkenmc** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:58 am

Hello,

Anybody replaced a wingtip? I poked a hole in mine with an overhanging treelimb. CURSES! CURSES! If the factory replacements come predrilled it will be a piece of cake, otherwise it will be a job drilling all those holes correctly. I'm hoping to find a local mechanic willing to do house calls.

Is it worth upgrading (is it an upgrade?) to drooped wingtips?

yellowbelly · Post by **yellowbelly** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:47 am

kakkenmc:

I don't think the Maule factory ever drilled a hole in the same place twice.

Get a strap duplicator. It will locate the existing holes and guide your drill for a perfect match.

YB

210TC · Post by **210TC** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:10 am

Each and everyone is handcrafted.....lol

kakkenmc · Post by **kakkenmc** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:56 am

Bad news with a silver lining. Thanks guys. I'd never heard of a strap duplicator, but Google showed me several. Cool. A homegrown version should work although they're not too expensive.

What a lot of trouble for a few seconds of BEING SUCH AN IDIOT! (I'm still working through this)

a64pilot · Post by **a64pilot** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:37 am

Is your current tip so damaged it can't be repaired? Is your airplane flyable? It's a polyester resin, not epoxy as I found out the hard way if you are going to repair it.
I don't think droop tips are an option.

kakkenmc · Post by **kakkenmc** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:04 am

There is a forward facing hole, so duct tape would be inadequate I think to make it airworthy. I'm strongly considering repairing it if a mechanic doesn't want me to tear the whole thing down (surely not, although I have two small leading edge dents). I think polyester resin is what auto body shops sell, and a repair from the inside should work well. It would probably be faster that drilling and fitting a new tip. I will look hard at it this evening.

Thanks

a64pilot · Post by **a64pilot** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:16 pm

Polyester is what is most common, it's the cheap stuff, epoxy isn't cheap. You are supposed to use aviation cert. resin. I know because Ray came up and got some from me the other day, but it doesn't matter, really.
The repair will be easy unless it's really destroyed. I would have a boat or body shop do it, shouldn't cost too much, maybe. The paint will be the harder part.
See if you can get to the back side of the leading edge dents through the inspection covers to "spoon" out the dents. I've seen the automotive paintless dent repair people work miracles on aluminum. If there isn't any rib damage and if the dents aren't bad, maybe they should be left alone, sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
Of course the repair to the wing tip will have to be under the supervision of an A&P.

kakkenmc · Post by **kakkenmc** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:18 pm

Thanks A64 pilot,

That is my preferred plan and I'm gld to hear it from a wiser soul. The dents have easy access. Two are certainly innocuous. One is very near the last rib and my involve it. My plane is far from flawless, so perfection will be out of place. My main regret is to be grounded.

I'm hoping this is my 200 hour overconfidence crash. It was my second landing of the day at my sorry strip ( I think 10 total at GE04). This was my first "just for practice" landing at my strip. i had been practicing at better strips for safety and to not annoy neighbors. I tried an old technique from a different direction, and by the time I realized I wouldn't clear the overhanging limb (I had planned to trim) it was too late. At least I didn't do any worse damage. I was never in any danger (low speed end of rollout, under control). But WHAT AN IDIOT!! I was just settling in to enjoying my plane. My dad ( a cub flying ex airforce retired commercial pilot) had even said, "That's the kind of plane I'd want if I was a younger man." This was after he was initially skeptical of Maules.

iceman · Post by **iceman** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 7:57 pm

One of the repairs involved in my ground loop was the wingtip. If you can repair the damaged one do it. The wing tips from Maule come with the trailing edge split. In other words it isn't finished and has to be done by a mechanic or someone who does glass. If you can picture it... Take a piece of paper and fold it in half but don't crease it. (Round in front and the two edges in back) only the back isn't closed or sealed. It has to be glassed closed..... Huge amount of work... and expensive...Then you have to drill the holes yourself as Maule never drills holes in the same place.

Oh and in addition in regards to your 200 Hr accident.... Just when you start to get comfortable is when it will bite you. I speak from experience.... .NEVER, and I mean NEVER get complacent and think it's just another landing...

Mine are the droop tips.

maules.com · Post by **maules.com** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:26 pm

There is more work in prepping, filling, sanding, fitting, painting etc for a new tip than repair the damage.
Local EAA may show you how, or a boat shop, or truck cab shop. It is messy but easy, and your paint lines are already layed out. You may add half a lb but that won't change the rigging.

kakkenmc · Post by **kakkenmc** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:02 am

Thankyou gentlemen. I now have a plan. I also have painlessly (until the bill) found a mobile mechanic to work with.

Kennon

iceman · Post by **iceman** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:01 pm

kakkenmc wrote:Thankyou gentlemen. I now have a plan. I also have painlessly (until the bill) found a mobile mechanic to work with.

Kennon

pictures!!! we want pictures!!!

210TC · Post by **210TC** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:13 pm

I second that

kakkenmc · Post by **kakkenmc** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:01 pm

Cruel request, but I'll try to comply. I am either working through all daylight or accompanying my wife through some surgical repairs (more expensive, but no sanding dust or sticky resin involved) for the next few days. I'm in no rush to document my STUPIDITY!!

Signed,
WISER IDIOT

a64pilot · Post by **a64pilot** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 5:47 am

Hey,
Nobody was hurt, it can be fixed. It didn't happen at a towered airfield, so nobody with three letter abbreviations is the wiser. Doesn't sound like it will involve insurance etc. It didn't happen 2,000 miles from home.You got off lucky, trust me.

wingtip replacement, Eaglet has crashed

wingtip replacement, Eaglet has crashed

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