Tail Stitching

[Laz]

Why are some BC12-D's Stitched on two of the vertical fin ribs and others others are not?

Anybody Know the spacing of the stitches?

[Guest]

Re: Tail Stitching

Its on the sight some where try a search.

I think that mine stitched on 3.

Would be nice if this kind of info could be indexed or catalogued.

Tha same question come up over and over.

Sorry that I am no more help than that.

Dave

[Laz]

Re: Tail Stitching

Thanks Dave. I did look up and found the thread. Here is the real problem. The 46 BC12-D vertical finis different than the 41. On the Pre-war T-crafts the ribs are only 8" apart and the bottom one is 2" higher. This makes for a lot less distortion when the knots are pulled tight. On the 46 BC12-D the bottom rib is much loser and looks bad when the Rib stitches are pulled all the way tight. I just wish I had the exact way the factory did it in 46. Most of these planes have been re-covered like mine 2 or three times and what was done at the factory has been lost.

Mike

[Guest]

Re: Tail Stitching

I think I stiched that bottom one (bc12d) and I later learned that I was not supposed to.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Tail Stitching

The 41 comes out with a nice smooth fair from the top of the longeron to the second fin rib if you only stitch the top two ribs. Looks great and handles fine. There is a Stinson in the area that has stitching on all of the fin ribs and it looks terrible!
Hank

[Dick Huish]

Re: Tail Stitching

The BC-12D has the L-2 Vertical fin. On the L-2 there is a steel band that goes on outside the fabric before it is shrunk. The purplse is to streamline the fin and relieve the pressure on the bottom rib stitches. It attaches to the rear of the fin witha PK screw and on the sides of the transition channel at the front of the fin. Dick

[Laz]

Re: Tail Stitching

There seems to be no definitive answer to the stitching of the lower rib. Hank is correct the 41 looks great with both ribs stitched. The BC12- Lower rib is 2"s lower than the 41. So here is my compromise. I stitched the tail on the upper rib but when I stitch the lower rib I just don't the stitches all the way tight. I have discussed this with Jim Miller at Poly Fiber and he thinks it will work just fine. The lower stitches will give the lower fabric some support but not pull it so tight that it not only looks bad but but puts a lot of stress on that area of the fabric. I originally pulled the stitches tight to the rib and found that the amount of force reacquired is tremendous. In most cases the fabric still not tight to the rib and has some movement. Also I found a picture of a F19 on the web that appeared to be original There were no dimples in the lower rib area where it was stitched.

Mike

Thanks again for everyone's help. I would post some pictures in the gallery but for some reason it appears to be down.

[Buell Powell]

Re: Tail Stitching

Mike,
Just to let you know-My 41 has the bands on the lower rib and stitched like Dick posted that is on his L2. It allows the fabric to be pulled tight without the bulges between stitches and makes for a more streamlined look. An F19 I restored never had the strip and only the top rib was stitched and looked OK also-but I kind-like the way it looks better with it.

[mikeg]

Re: Tail Stitching

FYI - My '41 DeLuxe also has the steel strap either side of the fin just above the stabalizers. There are welded on tabs on the LE tube and fin TE tube for the straps. Fabric goes under the straps with surface tape on top. (NC29804, s/n 2652, owned since 1970 and only covered one time before I got it - very original-great little airplane)
Mike G.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Tail Stitching

I didn't cover my 41 and I guess you can't see the strap after it is painted, but I doubt not pulling the ties tight is a good idea. I would think it would "dimple" the fabric where the stitching is and put a lot of local stress on the fabric. If I can get out tomorrow to work on my plane I will try a magnet on the fabric back there and see of there is a metal band in there. If it is ferrous metal I will be able to tell. If the band is aluminum I will try to feel it through the fabric.
It IS an awfully nice curve to form that way with nothing under it!
Hank

[Laz]

Re: Tail Stitching

Thanks Hank. I talked wit a AI today that has done a lot of covering. There actually is a similar issue with the cub. The best fix is to use the rib stitches but don.t pull them tight to the lower rib. He said when they do on the cub they often break later. Most people don't care since the fabric is still tight. I did find a couple of photo's on the net of later taylorcrafts F 19, 21's etc. They did have the lower rib stitched but no major dimples. In the cub world most put in the stitches but do not pull them taught. One trick is to actually use separate stitches for each side. The weave the stitch over the rib under the fabric on one side the out over the fabric on the other. they do this for both sides. The fabric is now tied to the rib not just tho other side of fabric. My friend said either way was acceptable. Bottom line is stitches with no sever dimples. The more I work on this "simple" airplane the more complicated it becomes .

Thanks again for all your input