Got a break from the rain here on Geneseo after dinner and was able to put a few flights on the rebuilt Waco - all went well.

Mike

Another great repair and another reason to keep original copies of all our plans
Mike

Thanks Tom.  Rebuild is complete.  Moving the peg forward two bays let me get rid of all the noseweight I'd previously had (a little under 4g).  The model balances just a bit nose-heavy with the motor installed.

I modified the stab adjuster to put the screw at the rear and the pivot at the front and took the opportunity to re-rig the model using stretchable beading cord.  Looks much better than the ever-sagging monofilament I'd used before, and much easier to work with.

Will have to trim it at the meet in Geneseo, but at least I'll be able to fly it there!

Cheers,

Mike

I've been struggling a bit with re-trimming my Stahl Waco SRE after repairing a little noseblock damage and installing a Gizmo Geezer adjustable nose button.  Monday 1 July I took it out to fly along with the Stahl Spitfire.  Spitfire trimming went well, so I started working with the Waco.  After some steady flights on hand winds I started working up on torque using the stooge.  Breeze was increasing, but not strong (maybe around 3-5 mph).  Earlier flights had showed a reliable right-right pattern and were staying on the field, so I wound it to ~1100 turns (about 60% for this motor).  Not thinking, I launched the model a bit right of the wind - it climbed to about 15 feet, then the wind got under the left wing as the model started its right turn.  The model rolled right and powered in - the impact broke the longerons behind the wing and the tension of the rubber put a nice right dogleg in the aft fuselage.

All four longerons and all six stringers were snapped.  Fortunately the only other damage I've found is a broken wing strut, so this is definitely repairable.

I chopped off the fuselage at the upright aft of the wing and salvaged the fin, stab, tailwheel and stab adjuster off the carcass.  An hour or so had new rear fuselage frames built.  I took advantage of the situation and moved the peg mount forward two bays, which I'd been wanting to do but didn't want to tear the model up to do it.  This also had the convenience of giving a generous gluing surface for grafting the new framework to the model.

While this dries I'll shrink and print some replacement tissue for the aft end.  I have 5 days to get this flyable before the family and I roll out for a road trip which includes flying at the Non-Nats in Geneseo...

Cheers,

Mike