Hurricane Rita took her away!

C

chariotdriver

New member
Well not completely away from me.
She did get tangled with a Cherokee in a hanger in South East Texas (Orange)

It has some holes in the vertical stabilizer on both sides and is going to be getting a estimate to fix in the near future.

I just had the plane recovered about 6 years ago and really do not want a patch job.
I would opt for a complete recover due to a patch job lowering the value of the plane.
What are your comments or ideas on a Patch as compared to a complete recover?
Regards,
Phil
 
When you say "tail" do you mean the entire empennage, the fuselage, or what? Can you be more specific?
Man, I sure wish I had my bird back in the air- I'd run down there so we could recover the stuff together! :D
 
The Vertical Stabilizer is the place that I saw that had several holes through it.

Also the leading edge of the right wing and also the right Aileron has some blue paint across the bottom but no tears or cuts.
It looks like something ran across the bottom,.
Thanks Phil
 
The vert stab fin is integral with the fuselage envelope. If it's just the rudder, the fix isnt all that bad- simply recover it! However, if it IS the fin, you probably would have to recover the entire top of the fuselage to get it to look right IMO. It's the place right there where the fabric flares into the fin that causes all this trouble.
Now, that being said, if you were to strip the paint off the top outer fabric where it curves over the fuselage tubing, cut the top out leaving about 2 inches to curl around the outer chrome moly tubes, I think one could safely recover the top without too much trouble :) . The blanket method would work just fine there.

Do you know what process was used to cover your bird :?: What kind of paint :?:

Heck- call me when you get a chance. (256) 544-3140 for work, (256) 508-1558 for cell. I'll be out of pocket tonight, but any time tomorrow will be fine. :D
 
The holes are in the upper part of the Vert Stab , none in the rudder itself.
I had this done about 6 years ago by some people that had done some show quality Stearmans and feel that I really had an exceptional job with the quality of the recover and the painting.
I called one of the guys the other day and found out that it was done in ceconite with a ppg omnisystem paint job.
I'm worried that if I do just a patch job, it will suffer from buyer beware if I ever get ready to sell it at a later date.
And If I opt for a full recover, I may not get a good enough job to match the one that I have now.
Decisions,..
The Adjuster has contaced Millers in Plainview to get an estimate on it.
I have heard good things about them regarding Bellancas in general over the years.
But has anyone ever had them do a complete recover and or a patch job?
This is my baby we're talking about.
I have read the e-mail forum for years and always noticed that everyone one was talking about how much better these things handle better than the "Spam Cans" and I really just thought that it must be "owners" patting themselves on the shoulder much the way a Dodge owner would do when talking to a Chevy or Ford guy.
I then had the chance to fly a Cessna 172 the other day to take some Writers for a Magazine down the MS Gulf Coast so that they could see the destruction first hand from Katrina.
That thing flew like a Tank as compared to the fine handling of the Bellanca!!
I vowed then that I would never own one of those aircraft as it was a pain to get around in.
sO I now understand what all that talk was. It was the truth!!
Regards,
Phil
 
Maybe you should just go with the patch job for now if it's not too expensive. I mean, the object here is To Fly :o
Maybe paint a little hurricane symbol on the patches with the name "Rita"- kind of like in WWI when they would paint their bullet hole patches with a little Iron Cross or a Roundel in the middle? Being a little silly here...

You can always go with a recover later if you just can't stand the patches any more. Just get her back in the air for now.
 
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