Advice needed to fix my error

[chinookhawk]

Hello all,

I am seeking opinions, if you want to tell me how stupid I am, please don't waste your breath I feel pretty dumb for what I did. I would like the best fix to get it flying again. I was hoping to fly it to the Taylorcraft flyin but I believe that is out until repairs are completed. I was in a hurry to keep the airplane from being pelted by potential hail and I slow speed back into the airplane wing (aileron). Do I take the aileron off and have it fixed? Do I fly it to a shop and have it fixed. How sturdy are the outboard aileron attach points. There is no movement on the undamaged side and 2 milimeter movement on the damaged side. It is currently at a private farm in Iowa. Does anyone know of a good taylorcraft airframe and fabric guy around Southern Iowa? Any advice or guidance is appriciated.

Mike

I have bigger more detailed pictures or I can take more.

[Ray36048]

Re: Advice needed to fix my error

The second picture looks bad. The aileron side attach point is connected to the aileron spar that continues to the tip. The gap to the wing has closed up. This suggests the aileron spar is broken. You could cut some more fabric to see. Also you need to look for cracks in the wing spar at the aileron fitting.

[crispy critter]

Re: Advice needed to fix my error

Mike,
Check your private messages.

[chinookhawk]

Re: Advice needed to fix my error

The second picture looks bad. The aileron side attach point is connected to the aileron spar that continues to the tip. The gap to the wing has closed up. This suggests the aileron spar is broken. You could cut some more fabric to see. Also you need to look for cracks in the wing spar at the aileron fitting.

That is what I was afraid of, that was why I was seeking more opinions. Thank you for the suggestion, I do think the aileron spar needs to be inspected.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Advice needed to fix my error

Sorry to throw a BIG log on your fire, but that wing is a honking big lever arm and when you struck the trailing edge you rotated the wing forward on the fuselage. The front spar took a compression hit and the rear a tension hit at the root. Hate to say it but you need to take a CLOSE look at the root ends of your wing spars too.
I had a friend tap a wing tip on the corner of a hangar that didn't even damage the paint. The rear spar fractured bad enough to be able to twist the wing tip. Unfortunately, he found out IN FLIGHT. He was lucky to get her back on the ground and live through it.
DON'T FLY IT till you check the spar roots too!
Hank

[chinookhawk]

Re: Advice needed to fix my error

Sorry to throw a BIG log on your fire, but that wing is a honking big lever arm and when you struck the trailing edge you rotated the wing forward on the fuselage. The front spar took a compression hit and the rear a tension hit at the root. Hate to say it but you need to take a CLOSE look at the root ends of your wing spars too.
I had a friend tap a wing tip on the corner of a hangar that didn't even damage the paint. The rear spar fractured bad enough to be able to twist the wing tip. Unfortunately, he found out IN FLIGHT. He was lucky to get her back on the ground and live through it.
DON'T FLY IT till you check the spar roots too!
Hank

Better to feel like a dumbass and be alive than to say it should be ok and end up balling it up in a field. Thank you for the experience and advice. I was planning to recover the airplane in a year or two, I may have advanced my timeline.

[mhorowit]

Re: Advice needed to fix my error

Some of us have to share(or will have to) a hanger with others, so there is always the danger someone will bump the wing and hurt the root end.

Certainly there is an inspection that can be done that doesn't involve removing fabric ????????? - MIkeH

[Larry Lyons]

Re: Advice needed to fix my error

Look at "aluminum covers for wing tank" thread...Larry

[Forrest Barber]

Re: Advice needed to fix my error

Look her over real good for damage to wing spars too! Thye #2 picture shows the problem, either with the aileron or the wing spar. Rumor has it that a fellow close to here had a failure of the outer aileron hinge during an aerobatic contest, and never noticied the difference.... the butt of the spars could ahve been damged too!