Wing Walk Damage

S

Scarlow

New member
Hi there,
I am currently looking at aquiring a 1946 14-13 for a restoration project. The aircraft is currently on the other side of the counrty (I live in Canada) and I have not had a chance to look at the aircraft yet. I am told it has been disassembled for the past 15 years and it has been even longer since it flew. The woman who owns it tells me that the plane has some damage in the wing walk area but she doesn't really know much about it (the aircraft belonged to her late husband). My question is, what kind of damage usually occurs in this area? Is it typically just skin damage, or is there a risk of structural damage as well? also what is the usual repair procedure?

P.S. I am currently a 4th year AME (A&P for those down south) apprentice soon to be licenced, so any other technical tips that anyone has for this kind of a restoration would be greatly appreciated.
 
http://www.vikingpilots.com/forum.php
That link will take you over to the Super Viking forum.
http://www.vikingpilots.com/showthread.php?262-Tank-Covers
This link is to the thread on tank covers & has pictures of the wing with the tank out, and the reassembly process. That should help. You may have to register with the forum to get in to the Airframe section and see this. But you really should be a part of that group for maintenance tips.
Good luck.
 
Had to fix mine. was not a too big job, where about are you in the country? I can explain over the phone.

Alain.
 
Almost all Bellanca wing walks need work. Broken glue joints, soft plywood, etc. Damaged tank covers that have let water seep on to the spars are the real threat. Before you go to the expense of going across the country,you might want to locate a knowledgeable person in the area to check for spar rot or splits in the spar butts. Get the spar inspection papers from the club, since some splits mean nothing, and others are fatal. Leaky tank covers are the biggest killer of old Bellancas. Plywood repair and ribs are doable but spar splices are very expensive. ____Good Luck,____Grant.
 
Bellanca Engineering Report BER #838 covers the extent of spar butt checking(dry cracking) that is acceptable in all Bellancas. A copy can be obtained from Alexandria Aircraft.
Wing walk repairs can be easy if damage is concentrated in one or two areas. Mine, however, became quite an ordeal since I ended up having to replace the entire wingwalk portion of the fairing area aft of the tank bay.
If the spars are checked beyond acceptable limits then don't try to have it fixed. Too expensive and takes a while. Go find another wing with good spars and use it on your airplane.
 
When I recovered my crate, it was easy to fix the wing walk since the wing was off. I reglued all the internal parts and then put a layer of fiberglass on the walk. I used West System epoxy and that turned out to be bullet proof. I don't see any other way of fixing a week walk with the wing still on the plane. Four bolts and a couple control wires it is off. Lynn :idea:
 
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