Making a Pair of Wings New

Rob58

Rob58

Moderator
I'm building up the energy and $$$ to restore the wings on my 14-19-2. I would like to end up with something even better than what came out of the factory. So what resources might exist in the archives that would give me a good starting point to put together a plan? What fabric option will give the smoothest surface appearance? What about the "micro-balloon" filler to even out the wavy surface of the wood (read about this many years ago)? How about reinforcements to any ribs or attach points? Any advice would be much appreciated! --Rob
 
Rob, in the very old Bellanca club news letters there is an article about the way the grain on the plywood should lay, to avoid the hungry horse look between ribs. The article was related to a Cruisair which has thinner plywood than a Cruisemaster and the Cruisemasters always seem to have smoother wings than a Cruisair, but I would talk to the factory about the way to lay the ply down. I dont know what year, or issue the article was in, but Bob at the club might have a copy. Keep us posted on how it goes and what is your location? _____Grant.
 
Hi Grant... really appreciate the feedback. I will start the hunt for this article. Maybe I have caught the factory guys on bad days, but they have never been very forthcoming about my requests for help or information. However they have offered to completely rebuild the wings for about $30K (not including shipping). I will try them again - maybe pay a personal visit sometime. Wonder if any of the old crew of craftsmen (or women) are still around? As for me and my projects, I'm in California - central coast area. Thanks again for the reply. --Rob
 
The article was in the news letter from the prior club, not the present club, but I believe that Bob at the club can supply (sell) you copies of the older news letters. Buy all of the information (books etc) that you can for keeping these old planes going. If you are not an experienced woodworker, you might save yourself time and money by having an experienced wooden boat surveyor go over the wings to determine what is serious and what is cosmetic. Micro balloons and lots of sanding can make for some beautiful wings. If you can find an early copy of a STITS COVERING VIDEO, it can be a help because the wood wing they use for the demonstration is a Bellanca wing. Good Luck. Grant.
 
When I recovered the crate a -2 in 2008, there were some surprises when I uncovered the wings. I found the wing walk and structure beneath required considerable repair. The fuel tank compartments need cleaned up and new cover. One wing tip needed repair. I'll be frank as you will not live long enough to rebuild both wings from scratch unless your 21 HA HA. It will take you a good bit of time to uncover these bad boys as the fabric really adheres to the wood. Nice part is the wings come off fairly easy and the fuselage can stay on jacks. The wings are heavy and awkward so get at least 4 guys to help. I took flaps, ailerons and wheels off before removing them. I also built a jig to hold each wing and rotate it for cover and paint. I recovered both wings with light grade fabric. The bottom of the wing is concave so covering can get a bit tricky when you shrink it. Looking back I'm amazed at what I did with a little help from my friends. I also got quotes on recovering from different shops. They wanted more than I paid for the crate and after doing this work I see why. It is also a good reason so many Bellancas are in the scap yard. Keep it outside is the sure kiss of death! Lynn the crate :shock:
 
What Lynn said is most true. Be very careful removing the old fabric. Significant skin damage can occur if you use the wrong methods and tools. This is not a job for the impatient. I do have a copy of wing covering instructions from either Northern or Downer. Does the club have this??? The Stits/Consolidated manual does mention procedures for fabric over undercambered wood wings. I think this topic has been covered previously in the forum. Make sure you have AC43 available for reference. Seek out some competent help.
Dan
 
Grant, Lynn & Dan... thanks for the tips & info. Reality is setting in now. This is not going to be a quick 4 or 5 week project. Step one - a major task in itself - is to do the research, collect the knowledge and build a plan! I appreciate pointing me in the right direction! --Rob
 
Dan - while researching old forum posts I read about your attachment to both the Bellanca and the Cessna 120. Interesting coincidence... I too have a Cessna 140 which I bought in '73 and could never part with, right along with the Cruisemaster which I picked up a few years later. I love both airplanes - for different reasons - now I have two projects going on, not to mention my job as the Cessna 120-140 website guy. Anyway hope to catch up with you sometime and share stories! --Rob
 
Rob,
If you are going to do a thorough restoration on the wings, I'd
Remove the landing gear for O/H.
Remove the tank covers and fuel tanks for insp/repair.O/H.
Remove all LG steel/aluminum fittings/bolts for inspection.
Now, they are light enough for two people to handle and turn over.
Years ago, I spent months of part time work getting a pair of 14-9 wings ready for cover. It was worth it
as they look as good as new today.
The EAA has several aircraft wood structure manuals available and AC43 has some good info as well.
Hopefully you have some local expertise and assistance, as well.
Dan
 
My humble advice is Don't... but if you must, do start with original factory Spars !

These are very cleverly engineered, and use a variety of woods quite purposefully.
My old brain wont let me spit out some the species used... which could consume a great deal of time
to find properly cured, cut with correct grain orientation, and of the quality and growth charactoristics
employed at the time.

The wood used in trunnel fastening wooden boats.. I just cant say... dang.

You can get the spruce, and the plywood to very high standard, and epoxy and fabrics that didn't exist..
but the wood... LOCUST... nearly vanished. You will be meeting some traditional boat builders if you go down the road of building the spars correctly. Good luck.

I believe there are plenty of very good wings available ... and that you could reskin and gussy up the structure
if you like that kind of thing... My 2 cents.
 
I'm not sure what manner of reality has set in here..and what fantasy remains.
But, if you are down to recover and perhaps re-skin in places... you are down to just a couple of years of
work. Forgive me but it doesn't sound like you have a clue what you are getting into !

Go down and visit Dan Torrey.. in Santa Paula. Look at the stub of a bellanca spar he has on his desk.
Spend some time examining it.. and let him tell you about what it actually is.


Go spend the day with his friend who does all his wooden wing major repairs. Take beer.
Examine his shop.. get a dose of real world time frames and costs.

Filling, and fairing with micro balloons, and sand sand sand.. is an artform in and of itself.
The wood work isn't as exacting as one might think.. except the spar making.. which no one-off amateur should delude himself into thinking he can "do better" than the factory and a crew of 100 working with unobtanium and great skill and experience did. Aint happening.

Realize that things like the leading edge were steam formed over jigs, which had been optimized through trial and error, and done with the skill borne of repetition.

There are plenty of perfectly good sets of wings out there.. that you could beautify in the timeframe of a month or two of concentrated work... and expenditure of a few thousand in prep and paint materials.

This is the most cost effect way to have very nice wings. If yours have structural problems.. SWAP THEM OUT FOR GOOD ONES.. PREP AND REPAINT BEFORE YOU INSTALL. FLY THE SUCKER.
 
then you can "rebuild" your old ones at your leisure...

as dan C said, we will all be dead and buried long before we could build a NEW set of wings.

I would have bought into two years of down time easily, if I had opted to pull, strip, repair, recover, and paint my wings. I opted to sandout my failing paint system, fill and seal with epoxy, and prep for paint.

It will be good for another 10 years and probably 20, given how little these planes fly now.
I have no delusions about the level of prep/paint or building craftsmanship I can put forth.
I can do a workman like repair, and achieve acceptable cosmetics.
Do no harm, leave it better than you found it, keep it flying.

But ground up restorations are fine, if you have tons of skills and time, or tons of money,
and need one of the best planes in the world.

Fellow I know who had a wing rebuilt at the factory was very happy and it was done in an eyeblink, compared to DIY.
 
Hey Larry... thanks for all of the feedback. Here is the situation... the wings off of my bird appear to be in great condition. They have only 1150 hours total time. They have always been hangared. The spars look perfect from what I can see. But they are 60 years old. Maybe the term "rebuild" was not the correct term to use. What I want to do is open them up in selective areas, fix anything that I find needs fixing and put them back together with the greatest care and attention to detail so that they do not ever need further attention in my lifetime. I am just trying to figure out the best way to do this. I do plan to talk to Dan Torrey and others, but I was starting here. I'm just coming up with the best plan and I really appreciate all of the comments on the forum! --Rob
 
Rob,
"Don't fix what ain't broke."
I've seen wings with minor issues made into major issues by people looking for trouble.
You are close to Dan Torrey. Either haul the wings to Santa Paula for his inspection or have him
come to your location.
Dan
 
Earlier posts referenced information in 'Bellanca Contact' about reskinning the wing. The subject paragraph was on page 19 of Vol. 2 No. 1 dated June 1988 by Tom Treue. It was part of a series by Tom on his adventure in restoring N74221, which is now in my care. I have the set of builders notes if they would interest you. Tom ended up reskinning the wing twice due to initial use of ply - 45˚ vs. 90˚.

Click to open - Bellanca Contact Vol.2 No.1
 
Sincerely appreciate the good comments and reference to the past information in the Bellanca Contact. Dan, I am with you on the idea of "don't fix if not broke". I have been operating under the belief that I would need to re-cover the wings when I recover the fuselage and control surfaces. I think some A&P advised me of this a long time back. Is this the way it must be? --Rob
 
Rob,
I have seen Bellancas redone without recovering the wings. This could be done if the fabric, finish and the wood skin underneath was in very good condition. However, if you have the original 1957 Grade "A" cotton
that they originally had, I would take the opportunity to examine, repair as necessary and recover.
The fabric is non load bearing and serves only as a seal against the elements.
The 1976 AD on Bellanca wings, in essence, states that the finish on the wings needs to be intact to protect
the structure.
This notwithstanding, my 1941 Bellanca T14-14 still has 1941 cotton on the bottom of both wings...in perfect shape. This is not the way I would have rebuilt the airplane...and I didn't. I still sign the airplane's
condition inspection every year because it is still airworthy. If I keep the airplane long enough, I'll do the correct thing and remove, inspect and recover. It's not that hard.
Dan
 
Dan, this is more very helpful information... thank you. Whatever is on the wings now is what came from the factory in '58 and I thought it was the grade A cotton; good to get your confirmation on that. My plan is to re-cover the wings for much the reasons that you have mentioned, and it is encouraging to hear you comment that this is not such a major project. I want to take the time to do everything right. I will take some time to research the best way to remove the old fabric as I certainly don't want to damage the wood. Hopefully I can engage Dan Torrey to come up to my shop and inspect everything once I have done the prep work. Thanks again, Rob
 
Rob,
Review the posts about carefully removing the fabric...
The factory had a specific way of covering the wing so that there were no seams or tapes near the leading edge. Check your wings. I have the Northern Aircraft memo on the proper technique.
Dan
 
It is interesting that the early Ray Stits video on recovering wood wings said that if the cotton is still good, to just refinish it. I have seen Cruisair wings that the covering had been removed and our already very thin plywood looked damaged and thinner (and very un-even). Dans, suggestion of IF IT AINT BROKE DONT FIX IT seems like the best way. The Stits video used a Cruisair wing to demonstrate wood wing recovering. Something else you might want to consider is to glue your tank covers. Vikings, after a certain year had all of their tanks removable from the bottom, and the top of the wing was all glue joints , rather than our screws and tape (and a prayer) that were supposed to keep the spars dry. More Bellancas have been ruined from leaky tank covers, than from any other reason. The factory sold a kit to change the tank brackets to allow removal from underneath, but didnt recommend it for the Cruisair, since our spar brackets are thinner than Vikings, and it took drilling and taping holes in those brackets. I think it was Dan Torrey that told me that he does scarf joints and glues tank covers even on old Bellancas and would just cut it out and make a new one if he ever had to remove it again. It seems to make sense. My own right side tank cover is like a trampoline, and will get a proper repair soon. Just my 2 cents worth. ____Grant.
 
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