Re-covering Cruisemaster flaps

leadsledfan

leadsledfan

New member
It looks to my untrained eye that the flaps on my cruisemaster were dragged on the inboard tips from a gear collapse. The right flap also has some fabric coming loose. I would like to strip and repair the flaps, and then recover.

Any leads on a good fabric shop in the San Francisco Bay area?

I'm also considering recovering them myself, but welcome any advice.

Thanks!
 
I am going up to Redbluff in a couple of hours to talk to my IA. I will ask him. He has done lots of work on old Bellancas. I will let you know this evening. _____Grant.
 
Fabric covering isn't difficult and there's lots of info available.. but you do need some basic tools.. spray gun for one (the harbor freight purple gun works great for fabric work)
But ready though, it's rare when someone strips off fabric and doesn't fine structural work that needs to be fixed first...

(don't forget drain holes)
 
I just talked to my IA and postponed my trip until Saturday. It is supposed to be much cooler then. He has lots of fabric experience and has done annuals and repairs on a number of Bellancas. Rob58 knows him. Gary Walker (Cardan Aviation) 530-638-6651. I trust him, and there are not many IAs I would say that about. ____Grant.
 
My advise is to call the factory this morning and have them rush you the trailing edge for both flaps (4 pieces total). You'll need them at some point in the future, but if you see damage to the tips of the flaps, you'll probably need them now. And the connection between the two pieces gets abused and is probably damaged due to a life of hardship anyway. But as others have said, the rest is easy if you have the tools and materials.

Mmmm... I love the smell of MEK in the morning. (Seriously, wear a good respirator). Good luck!
 
Echoing Grants comment, I would recommend Gary Walker as well. Knowledgeable A&P and very reasonable in his rate structure. Of course there is also Dan Torrey. These are the two best resources I am aware of in California. Don't forget that while you have the fabric stripped off you will want to assess the condition of the flap actuating bracket attach point. There are several comments on this forum regarding the problem and resolution. If you choose to do the fabric work yourself, be very careful not to overshrink as you can deform the control surfaces. And then there is the question of rib stitching - enough said!
 
Thanks All!
I'm going to give Gary a call and get his thoughts.
The trailing edge pieces are $150 a side for both pieces.
The factory still does repair work, and they quoted me $1100 per flap plus parts through silver. Seems a bit steep, but it's factory work.
Thanks!
-Adam
 
Based on what I've seen, the factory does good, but not great, work. I'm sure they do better work if the flaps need major repairs, because I assume they have jigs pre-made. But shipping the flaps would be a expensive for something that's probably a reasonably easy repair.

The trailing edge is a bit of a unique part, which is why I was suggesting ordering it up front. It always sucks to have your plane down waiting for parts.
 
Boys having been there done that don't go for the juggler. First you commit to the task. Get the flaps off the crate and take some pictures for the tapes the stitching, drain holes and such. Then take the fabric off so you can see the structure there is always the unexpected! A couple things to address before you Watergate it. Check the fittings attachment and wear. You will want to make sure these are perfect before you cover it all up. I epoxy varnished my wood before I Polyfibered them. I hated to cover it because that wood looked so nice. Get the Polyfiber manual $10 bucks and use them or Ceconite to cover. You can have an autobody shop do the spray work or you do it outside. Not rocket science but takes time. The hardest is the stitching. A good or any fabric job is worth more than these crates are worth so any money you save is going to be strictly labor. The more you do yourself the more you save. Fabric is cheap the chemicals are not and the labor is expensive. Lynn the crate
 
Thanks Lynn!
I'm going to try to pull the flaps off in the next couple of weeks. I'm trying to get the little stuff taken care of before I love to the east coast and still have a friendly IA for sign off
 
Does anyone have a set of Cruisemaster Flaps that they would be willing to part with?
I am looking at a full recover on my flaps, and would like to stay flying while I do the work. My thought is to find a serviceable set of flaps, strip, repair, and recover, and then keep mine on the airplane until I am done.
It may seem like a lot of effort just to keep the airplane off the ground, but I am flying 15-20 hours a month, so the flight time loss is fairly significant.

-Adam
 
Hi Adam... not sure if this would be of any value to you... I have a set of flaps from a '73 Viking that you are welcome to use until you have time to rebuild yours. Two problems: first I am not sure if they are compatible with a -2 (I think they have an extra hinge bracket which may or may not be a problem), and second I am not sure when I will be making a trip up north again where they are stored - sometime in August probably. Anyway, just an offer.
 
Rob,
I believe that the Viking flaps are longer and thinner than the Cruisemaster Flaps, not a direct swap.
Thank you for the offer though. Viking parts seem to be in abundance, while CruiseMaster parts seem to be even rarer than Cruisair parts.
I was mostly looking as a convenience. I figured being able to take my time and not feel rushed to recover the flaps would be worth the added cost.
Thanks
-Adam
 
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