Merry Christmas to me!

Looks a cracker Ron, can't help think it's a brave man that'll
Put it though the post.

"Holy Crumbling Silkspan Batman !!!!!!!!!"

Man! There has been a real and sudden preponderance in Ringmaster Refab's over the past few weeks !!!! Especially those which are making like snakes and shedding their skins !!!!!

I think this was mentioned in the Mayan Calendar !!!

Ron, you did see this part didn't you:

Seller wrote:Shipping will be around $40 to $50 depending on location due to overall size

RknRusty wrote:Ron, you did see this part didn't you:

Seller wrote:Shipping will be around $40 to $50 depending on location due to overall size

Oh yeah, I saw it. I contacted the seller before I even placed a bid and he agreed to cut the wing from the fuselage to aid in shipping costs should I win. All told I should have $35 or so into it before it reaches my door. Still cheaper than a Brodak kit or buying the raw materials for a scratch. If you include my labor rate of $150 an hour to cut out the pieces from the plans then I am way ahead!

Ron

Kim wrote:"Holy Crumbling Silkspan Batman !!!!!!!!!"

Man! There has been a real and sudden preponderance in Ringmaster Refab's over the past few weeks !!!! Especially those which are making like snakes and shedding their skins !!!!!

I think this was mentioned in the Mayan Calendar !!!

Lol Kim, yeah it looks like a mess. I couldn't help myself. It was crying out to me from the pictures.

John Goddard wrote:Looks a cracker Ron, can't help think it's a brave man that'll
Put it though the post.

Just call me Sir Ron! The bravest control line Knight in existance. Much braver than the likes of Sir Elton John. Can you imagine that guy on a horse weilding a sword?

Jason_WI wrote:Looks like there is some life left in it yet. as long as the wood is not oil soaked you should be good to go.

I am wondering about that too!

cribbs74 wrote:

John Goddard wrote:Looks a cracker Ron, can't help think it's a brave man that'll
Put it though the post.

Just call me Sir Ron! The bravest control line Knight in existance. Much braver than the likes of Sir Elton John. Can you imagine that guy on a horse weilding a sword?

I'm not sure I'd like to see him wielding anything

Oil soaked wood can be remedied with alcohol (denatured or rubbing) and corn starch. Apply both liberally to the oily wood caking the corn starch on so the corn starch becomes oily, and the wood less so. Several application may be required.

Looks like a pretty nice bird there.

Phil

The majority of my planes were initially hand me downs. I've rebuilt many that looked like this one. Problems though are quite apparent. An older plane especially one like this can be plagued with problems. Things to look for especially a plane that has been silked or silkspanned is warps. The dope is always shrinking which is what caused it to rip in the first place. Removing it is a pain in the rear. Trailing edges especially can go completely bananas curving all over. Many of these planes were built with Ambroid which is a celluloid based glue which is probably non existent at this stage due to it drying out and shrinking back resulting in a unglued joint. This usually needs to be picked off and reglued usually requiring the same type of adhesive. Wearing eye protection should be used as this typically goes right into your eye when picking it off. It just shatters. Many of these control systems utilized the Perfect 3" metal bellcrank. Leadouts absolutely need to be inspected and stranded cable in a aluminum bellcranks usually have sawn half way through the cable.

Back when these planes were built, it was typical to use rosin core solder and not clean anything. Corrosion is at work and has typically fouled up many critical areas such as the bellcrank when one soldered the nut to hold it in place. Also a washer on the pushrod is suspect as these methods probably weren't done correctly and are just waiting to fail. Bottom line, redo the control system, bellcrank platform, control horns and flap horns. The inevitable will take place . Many profiles had the doublers glued on with aliphatic type glues. I can usually make new doublers and peel the old ones right off allowing for new motor blocks as well. This is extreme, but sometimes necassary due to oil soaking. Many times I've just made new doublers as in the case of the Ringmaster just to bring it back to the high point of the wing. Most older used Ringmasters have the nose already broken and this will bridge the break. Seeing that most Rings are powered with the Fox.35, it requires a fairly stiff front end to avoid fuel foaming in the tank. As for tanks, these usually go into my box of crap as they're just not worth fixing. Rust and corrosion inside will fould things up.

Aside from these critical points of interest, lets not forget the control surfaces themselves. The old cloth hinges have deteriorated and will rip even though they may appear intact. Pin hinges sometimes are gummed up and oil soaked around the entrance points requiring toothpicks at this point through the stab and elevator to stake them in. Older pin hinges like Klett hinges have pins that were removable and these sometimes need to be addressed. Bottom line, eye up a plane as best as possible utilizing some of these points I made and realize what your getting into. Many times however you get lucky. It just doesn't pay sometimes to go through all the trouble to fix these old relics. It does make for good experience initially but sometimes it just makes more sense to get out there and fly. Ken

Thanks for the advice Ken. I will keep all those things in mind when I look it over.

For $20 it's really not a big deal. The seller is a modeller himself and I spoke with him over the phone. He is going to dissassemble it and ship it my way for much less than anticipated.

All in all, wether cost effective or not it will be a fun resto.

Ron

cribbs74 wrote:For $20 plus shipping I will probably save more money than if I bought the wood and scratch built it myself. Seller is going to remive the wing to cut down on shipping.

It needs some attention, but much like Kim I enjoy a challenge. Plus I save another S-1 from the scrap pile.

Now if only Cox manufacturing had made a Cox .35!

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=251194475636&kw=251194475636

Ron

Ron: looks like you like a challenge? have fun with this one. happydad