The patch turned out well after sanding.



And I continued gluing the wing sheeting.



I came across some information on how wetting one side of the sheeting will bend it away - I'm working on that now.

I finished the sheeting repair of the starboard wing. I soaked the second sheet for a couple of days, which was a big improvement over moistening one side of the first one. Far from perfect, but not bad for a first go.



Turns out there was another part of the starboard wing that needed a patch.



After that, I started soaking the sheeting for the port wing. I didn't have a big enough container for three feet of balsa, so I improvised with what I did have - some insulation board and an old robe in the rag drawer. I soaked the robe and laid it out on the board, then put the sheeting on the robe...



... and folded the robe over. I poured water over it every day - it sat for several because I didn't have time to get to the sheeting repair.

While the sheeting was soaking I cut and glued the two pieces of balsa that would form the new port wingtip.



I traced the outline from the starboard wing as best I could (keeping in mind that I was after a mirror image, not an exact copy) and cut out the VERY rough shape on the band saw.



I plan to work it closer to size then, once the sheeting is done, attach it to the wing before doing the final shaping.

Back to the wing sheeting. After it sat for a few days I took it out of the robe and trimmed it to length. It was certainly saturated.



After the starboard wing repair I had decided to try a different method that wouldn't require a joint at the leading edge. So I marked a centre line on the wing and the sheeting...



... pinned it in place...



... and placed magazines to shape it.



I'll leave that for a couple of days.

In the meantime, that other patch on the starboard wing has been sanded flush.



The shape of the wingtip has also been refined, both to the contour of the wing...



... and the wingtip itself.

It's been a while and a lot has been done. The port wing leading edge got finished.



The upper sheeting was installed.



And I patched some sheeting damage.

Another impact hole was patched.



Some sheeting errors I made got patched too.

I also fibreglassed a few spots.








Next up - working the port wingtip into shape.

I was apprehensive about shaping the port wingtip because of the amount of wood that had to be removed. In the end I did almost all of the shaping with a block plane.



It's not completely finished - but so far I'm happy with the results.



I wasn't happy with the sheeting on the upper surface of the port wing, however, so I decided to reinforce it.

This was a good time to start filling some gaps. I got some palette knives from Lee Valley Tools...



... and some filler from my LHS.



After that it was a matter of experimenting with the mix...



... and trying it out.

Interesting thread. When you patch with fiberglass, how will you finish that surface for when the covering goes on so you don't see the glassed area?

Also, what weight of glass cloth did you use, it looks very light. Do you use a special resin?

Originally Posted by BJM-Maxx

Interesting thread. When you patch with fiberglass, how will you finish that surface for when the covering goes on so you don't see the glassed area?

It's a trainer - I'm not too worried about perfection under the covering.

Also, what weight of glass cloth did you use, it looks very light. Do you use a special resin?

It's 1/2 oz cloth coated with a solution of 5 mL of 30 minute epoxy diluted with 1 ml of 99% isopropyl alcohol. The fiberglass is mostly for surface strength - all of the patched sections were repaired with cabinetmaker's glue before glassing.

I must have shaped the ribs on the starboard wing incorrectly, because the sheeting on the top of the wing was recessed from the original sheeting. At first I figured I could fill it with the Model Lite but an experiment showed it would be way too much filler. So, I went with a different approach.



Once the glue cured, I taped up the surrounding sheeting to protect it. Thanks for the tip, Dave!



After a lot of sanding, the new section of the wing is flush with the old.

Thanks for the details pics. Will be good for reference. Taping the surround areas is a neat trick. Should have thought of that on my Reactor repair. Block planes are awesome for removing large amounts of balsa without a big mess. Amazing how repairable these are and if smooth, not readily discernible under the covering.

Originally Posted by seattlebuoy

Taping the surround areas is a neat trick

Props for that go to Dave, the manager at my LHS. Thanks again Dave!