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any reinforcements, if needed, as noted
later).
Removing the skin, we uncovered a
portion of the side fuse that was also
separated.
Because EPP foam, usually breaks
cleanly (few small bits) these breaks can
be reinforced and repaired with epoxy.
There is a great deal of mated surface
area at the break which makes the
repaired area stronger than the foam
was before. Careful alignment of the
pieces is important.
Because this break occurred at the
weakest part of the fuselage (the cockpit
cross-section is about one inch thick),
some reinforcement is beneficial.
Highlighted below in black are the
breaks and the two horizontal lines are
locations for plywood longerons to span
the fractures. We epoxied the plywood
into routed slots.
Align a replacement skin so that you can
determine where to trim it.
Once the skin is trimmed, you can follow
the procedure for skinning the airframe
as noted earlier in this manual. Adding
some glue drop rivets at the overlapping
edges can make the replacement skin
blend seamlessly into the other skins.
Next, mask, paint, detail and go fly.
This major repair, less adhesive drying
time, took
less than eight hours
to get
Summary of Contents for T-34C TURBO MENTOR
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