Help! How to repair aileron damage? / wingtip?

[Flying Thoughts]

Hello! Just got started with planes this last year and built my first flite test a few weeks ago, the mini explorer.

I’m proud of this little thing, it managed to fly in 10mph winds with gusts to 25 today. At least, until I tried to fly it low on 3s during a particularly bad gust. The stabilization with the ft aura is pretty rad, although it couldn’t compensate for my panicky poor flying during the big gust.

On impact it appears the wing unseated and an aileron got clipped by the prop, chopping and knocking out a few square centimeters of foam.

Anyone have a recommendation for repair? I’m wondering if I should cut out a rectangle around the damage, cut an equal size scrap piece, and foam tac it together, and maybe add a piece of blenderm for good luck? My concern is adding weight and imbalancing the wing.

Advice?

I also included a photo of the impacted wing tip. To my novice eye it doesn’t look too bad, crinkled but mostly following the original shape. Any advice on the wingtip?

Some guidance would be greatly appreciated. I’ve repaired a decent amount of foam on a couple non-Flitetest or hand me down scratch build planes now, but nothing crucial for performance like a control surface.

Thanks!

 

[Foamforce]

For the bent wing tip, squeeze it at the fold as you bend it back the other way. It will still be wrinkled, but it won’t affect flight. Don‘t worry about the appearance, bent wing tips are the signature look of FliteTest planes. 🙂

For the gash, cut a square patch big enough to cover the gash, just like you were saying. Then place the patch over the damage and line it up with the edge of the aileron. Hold it down tight, and trace it with a sharp Exacto knife. It will be an exact fit that way, even if you didn’t cut the patch to a perfect square. Then a thin bead of glue around the edge and slide it into place. Squeegee away any glue that squishes out of the gap. You could add a layer of packing tape on top if you wanted, but I don’t think it’s necessary.

 

[Flying Thoughts]

For the bent wing tip, squeeze it at the fold as you bend it back the other way. It will still be wrinkled, but it won’t affect flight. Don‘t worry about the appearance, bent wing tips are the signature look of FliteTest planes. 🙂

For the gash, cut a square patch big enough to cover the gash, just like you were saying. Then place the patch over the damage and line it up with the edge of the aileron. Hold it down tight, and trace it with a sharp Exacto knife. It will be an exact fit that way, even if you didn’t cut the patch to a perfect square. Then a thin bead of glue around the edge and slide it into place. Squeegee away any glue that squishes out of the gap. You could add a layer of packing tape on top if you wanted, but I don’t think it’s necessary.

That worked great, thank you!

 

[Foamforce]

Post pics! 🙂

 

[Flying Thoughts]

Post pics! 🙂

It’s raining, so I can’t fly yet, but I’m feeling really happy about how repairable these planes are- and how affordable it will be when someday the whole wing or airframe need replacing.

In the meantime, I’m planning my LED navigation light system for night flying

Thanks again!

 

[Foamforce]

Nicely done, that’s super clean!