Bends, kinks and splices

Michael Horowitz wrote:
How does an A&P know if he can simply straighten out a longeron or if
he's going to have to cut and splice?

-----------------------------------------------

I think you've left a few too many loose ends for a concise answer.
However...

The nature and extent of the damage tends to dictate the method of
repair but the airframe usually defines which repair procedures are
most applicable.

Steel tubing without any traumatic injury such as shrapnel wounds or
bullet holes, the degree of deformation and the surface texture tells
you if the member may be straightened or if it should be replace.
Aluminum, due to the stretch resulting from even a minor deformation,
you generally cut it back to clean, un-deformed metal and make up a
splice.

But I'll tell you pard, getting a kink out of a wooden longeron is a
hell of a chore; trying to straighten that stuff just makes it worse,
your rivets don't hold for **** and don't even think of trying to weld
it. Vast mystery I guess.

Or at least, half-vast :-)

-R.S.Hoover

wrote:

But I'll tell you pard, getting a kink out of a wooden longeron is a
hell of a chore; trying to straighten that stuff just makes it worse,
your rivets don't hold for **** and don't even think of trying to weld
it. Vast mystery I guess.

Or at least, half-vast :-)

-R.S.Hoover


Mr. Hoover, this being RAH, I can't just let such misinformation go buy
unheeded. Why everyone know that you can weld wood longerons just fine
if you get the right rod. You see, the oak rod is to hard. It won't
stretch as it cools, and tends to pull the parent material too thin.
You have to use a soft, white pine rod. It's weaker, but your weld will
be 3 to 4 times as thick as the parent anyway so it won't matter.

The secret is to use a carbeurizing flame. Do it right, and you'll
never have to worry about crashing the airplane.

--
This is by far the hardest lesson about freedom. It goes against
instinct, and morality, to just sit back and watch people make
mistakes. We want to help them, which means control them and their
decisions, but in doing so we actually hurt them (and ourselves)."

"Ernest Christley" wrote

The secret is to use a carbeurizing flame. Do it right, and you'll
never have to worry about crashing the airplane.

great big chuckle

You could go as far as saying, that by welding that one piece, it will
guarantee that you never will have to work on the plane again!
--
Jim in NC

It also reduces the weight very effectively!

But on a serious note what kind of plane are we talking about? I may be able
to help.

Patrick
student SPL
aircraft structural mech

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"Ernest Christley" wrote

The secret is to use a carbeurizing flame. Do it right, and you'll
never have to worry about crashing the airplane.

great big chuckle

You could go as far as saying, that by welding that one piece, it will
guarantee that you never will have to work on the plane again!
--
Jim in NC

WP- steel and fabric taildragger. - Mike

"W P Dixon" wrote:

It also reduces the weight very effectively!

But on a serious note what kind of plane are we talking about? I may be able
to help.

Patrick
student SPL
aircraft structural mech

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"Ernest Christley" wrote

The secret is to use a carbeurizing flame. Do it right, and you'll
never have to worry about crashing the airplane.

great big chuckle

You could go as far as saying, that by welding that one piece, it will
guarantee that you never will have to work on the plane again!
--
Jim in NC

Michael,
As was mentioned , the know all see all is the Structural Repair Manual.
And with saying that I will add , if it is an old plane it still may not
help you much. If it is a plane that still gets made you probably will find
everything you need in the SRM. ( As the previous post I was glad to learn
the no corrosion stuff in that SRM) SRM's sure usually cover corrosion,
damage repairs, and what is acceptable. For things not acceptable you are
usually given a proper repair. And alot of times even told when engineering
analysis was necessary. Since this is a homebuilt forum, I will say that
SRM's are for certified aircraft published by the aircraft maker.
Using AC43.13-1B, I would say anything you felt would take an engineer
to approve of a fix , replace the tube. If you don't see a repair in there
it's usually because the fix will have to come from higher up..DME.
Homebuilts get alot of freedom in their fixes, but holding your airplane to
some FAA standards can be a good thing as well. Most homebuilders nor A&P's
are engineers,....and you may have a case here where you need one. Your
other option would be replace the tube in question.
Of course since myself nor any of us on here have seen the damage in
question my answer is on the side of safety and caution. When it comes to
airplanes it always seems to work out best that way

Patrick
student SPL
aircraft structural mech

"Michael Horowitz" wrote in message
...
WP- steel and fabric taildragger. - Mike

VB - sorry about the vagueness, but we will need to remove fabric
before I can see anything except the bend in the tailcone; the
horizontal stabilizer sustained a considerable blow when it hit
something on the ground - Mike

wrote:


Michael Horowitz wrote:
How does an A&P know if he can simply straighten out a longeron or if
he's going to have to cut and splice?

-----------------------------------------------

I think you've left a few too many loose ends for a concise answer.
However...

The nature and extent of the damage tends to dictate the method of
repair but the airframe usually defines which repair procedures are
most applicable.

Steel tubing without any traumatic injury such as shrapnel wounds or
bullet holes, the degree of deformation and the surface texture tells
you if the member may be straightened or if it should be replace.
Aluminum, due to the stretch resulting from even a minor deformation,
you generally cut it back to clean, un-deformed metal and make up a
splice.

But I'll tell you pard, getting a kink out of a wooden longeron is a
hell of a chore; trying to straighten that stuff just makes it worse,
your rivets don't hold for **** and don't even think of trying to weld
it. Vast mystery I guess.

Or at least, half-vast :-)

-R.S.Hoover