Do I take the wings off?

C

czacwolf

New member
I am about to stat a 14-13-2 refurbishment. I have done several other planes, but never a Bellanca. Is it practical or even a good idea to remove the wings to get a good re-covering job on the plane or should I leave it intact? I am experienced with dope and fabric, just not strong on Bellanca tricks.

All comments are welcome.

Thanks.

MJ
 
I had a tough time getting the wings back on for the following reason. They had been off for years and were stored in a dry climate. The spars at the root shrunk. I had to soak the spar ends with wet towels taped on for several days. Finally got them back to condition for assembly. I sugget you make some steel straps and bolt them to the spar straps to hold firm the spacing. This all is assuming your wings may be going from a dry climate to a damp climate or der udder way around. At any rate holding them rigid is a good idea.
 
Ditto Greg is right. You must remove the wings to cover the fuselage. The plane would not be airworthy if you covered with the wings attached. When and if you do the job you will see why. I've been there and it is a VERY LARGE JOB for one man! Lynn the crate :shock:
 
MJ,
You can refabric the fuselage with the wings left on, we did BUT we used seperate sheets of fabric, not a fabric envelope. We did it on a 14-3-2. It came out well BUT the next time we would take the wings off, just way way way easier. I also recently replaced belly fabric and stringers on a 14-13-2 without removing the wings. That job wasnt too bad at all. The hardest part was stripping the aerothane off of the side fabric panels for attachment of the belly sheet! (hint-swab on mek on the INSIDE of the fabric, it releases the underlying dope coats, then you can peel off the polyurethane). As for spar shrinkage, the post above is sure correct. On a second restoration we did, we replace one wing with rotten spars with another that had good spars but needed some skin work. The replacement wing had been in storage for about 15 years in a very dry climate, Arizone/nevada. We were lucky to remate the wing without too much trouble, just slightly tight on the front spar straps.
Good luck and welcome to the Cruisair/master clan, they are sure wonderfull flying aircraft. WELL WORTH all the maintenance work!
Dan
 
There is a Cruisemaster that has been for sale and the covering was done with the wings on. So why is it for sale? I rest my case. Just thought I would add some more fuel to the fire. Lynn the crate :shock:
 
Cruismaster for sale? Whats that got to do with a fabic job? Lets face it, most cruismasters/aires are up for sale due to wood issues not fabric, or owners who are either just tired of doing all it takes to keep these fine birds going or are not capable of doing the work themselves and have to lay out lots and lots of cash for someone else to do the work. I think Dan would agree our bellanca's are surely maintenance heavy compared to spam cans or for that matter taylorcrafts/champs/cubs etc. Well thats just the price we have to pay if we want to play in this game. For me, I don't mind, I learn something new everyday working on my old bird. For example, don't you love working under the panel, having that fuselage cross member digging right into the small of your back? LOL.
 
Why don't you give that question to the Cruisemaster for sale? Ask how it is holding up to the aerodynamic stesses. Back to basics do I pull the wings to refabric? You must pull the wings to refabric. Think I'm full of it? Ask the factory they will tell you! Lynn the crate :x
 
LOL. the factory rep? Now thats a good one, if I asked the factory rep he would tell me that and much more, to the point that none of us could ever afford to fly our antiques. You should know to never ever take your car to the dealer , unless it is new and still under warranty. Common Lynn, for every 14-13-2 that is for sale with possible bad fabric due to a different way of getting the job done, I'll show you three that have been done that way and are flying just fine. Lets see, we did the fabric on the afor mentioned 14-13-2 8 years ago, lets see......about 300 hours later....fabrics still there.....punches fine.....no rips, tears, seperation...oh did I mention she has an 0-435 with hartzel constant speed....cruising mighty fast. Common Lynn, lighten up, just look up the necessary overlap needed for joining fabric sheets, no big deal, but I totally agree, getting a good job IS much easier with the wings off.
 
Well to each his own I guess. As an IA I would flunk it. Having been into this exact same thing I 'm pretty passionate about the subject and I know it shows. If it keeps you flying and a smile on your face, I'm shutting up. Press on Lynn :)
 
I have been flying that cruisemaster that is for sale for 4 years all over the country with no problem and the fabric is still in tact and is still winning awards so that is not why it is for sale YOU DUMB SOB do not ASSUME
 
Gentlemen:

Please use this Forum with courtesy. I am sure differing views can be expressed with respectful dialogue.

Thank you,
 
Wow, Mike those were some harsh words. Lynn, is a man of few words, but when he speaks he generally knows what he is talking about. Personally I don't give a damn one way or another.
But it troubles me that two bellanca aviators would get cross ways over a misunderstanding.

I took the wings off 9840B just to patch the belly, there really was no choice they were taped to the fuselage and really screwed things up when I removed the tapes.
Point being there are always different circumstance. I wouldn't want to try a fabric job with the wings on though. I would be about as hard as getting the
damn things back on. (Three guys, a fork lift, and a wife to shout orders!!)

If anyone gives a damn, 9840B is repaired and waiting for the engine.
 
I dont need someone posting online assuming that there is something wrong with my airplane that has not inspected it if that sounds harsh im sorry but put yourself in my shoes I am trying to sell it and statements like that are not fair if he had concerns about it he should have contacted me before posting
Michael
 
Michael, sorry to see that you ASSUMED it was your Cruisemaster. Nowhere in this discussion is yours mentioned or anybody elses.A 19, a-2, a-3, N# etc. Sorry you took it so hard but I stick by what I said and it is my opinion based on my experiances and what is written about recovering airplanes.. Now that everybody is waiting for the next round on the open Forum. I just received the 1st copy of 1/4 scale plans for Cruisemaster from Jerry Bates. He had me send him pictures of the plane when I was recovering it. Yes the wings were off and everything was openned up. I don't know what the cost is but the 4 sheets could cover a wing this model is big. Calls for a Zenoah G26 engine.
Jerry Bates Plans
102 Glenwood St.
Mobile, Alabama 36606
Lynn :eek:
 
I've stayed out of this discussion, an interested bystander. My take is........that the time a Bellanca or any other airplane needs to be recovered, other internal issues need to be addressed. I'm thinking electrical, hydraulic, structural and control systems need to be corrected for another 30+ years of use. Yes, it is possible to recover a Bellanca fuselage without taking the wings off. However, it is not difficult to remove the wings and get them ready for recover as well. A lot of Bellancas are floating around with a newly covered fuselage........in Stits or Ceconite or some other long lasting cover........with the original grade 'A' on the wings. It is a lot easier to cover the wings and work on the fuselage issues as separate items. I have done this process a few times, both on aircraft I own and assisting other Bellanca owners. I welcome further discussion. Dan
 
Nice answer Dan, That is the type of answer we owners are looking for. Informative, polite, giving multiple ways to the common goal, and you care about keeping these birds in the air. I wish they where all like that. Brian
 
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