Randy's Notes
To answer the main question, will it fly as good as it did? Yes it does. Bryan himself made the maiden flight, and with a click or two of trim he was doing maneuvers that will take me years to learn how to do. As a beginner with my first two meter plane, my flying has improved drastically. I can’t wait until the next contest. I should see great improvement in my scores. The Shinden is an amazing flying airplane and I can’t imagine it flying much better before it was crashed.
The reason for the crash was because the horizontal stabilizers came apart in flight, this creates an ill handling plane to say the least. With all things considered, I think the plane held up pretty well. The wings were in great shape, the fuselage not so good. I needed to replace the entire nose, including the firewall, and the canopy which I made using carbon fiber. I repaired a broken fin and I built a pair of foam cored balsa sheeted stabs. Also damaged were the servo trays and the rear of the fuselage where the stabilizer linkage was ripped out. All repairs were made with strength in mind but attempting to be lighter than the original.
As an added bonus, it is still under the weight limit. This plane weighed 10lbs. 14oz. before the crash, so I didn’t have a lot of extra weight to work with for the repair. This plane was restored to like new condition including a new paint job and now weighs 4997grams. I will be using a smaller fuel tank and a lighter battery when it’s time for the Nats next year, just to be on the safe side. To accomplish this you must pay attention to every detail, every bolt must be cut to the correct length, every piece of wood must be weighed , and extreme measures must taken in the sanding and refinishing areas. I am owner of a paint & body shop so I have an advantage over most in the painting department. But I think anyone with some skill and patience could achieve an acceptable finish.
In the beginning this plane left the factory as an all white plane, the stripes and clear coat were added after. So I knew I could sand every thing off down to the base white. This took a tremendous amount of time sanding but this is what it takes to remove every last gram of paint. Next I used white primer that allowed me to prime only the areas that needed primer. The plane was then sanded to a super smooth finish with 600 grit sandpaper. Since the plane was already white, it only took one coat of white paint to achieve complete coverage. Careful attention was paid to the stripes choosing colors that would cover in one coat with an airbrush. Minimum weight and paint thickness is the goal here. The stripes were lightly sanded with 1200 grit paper just to remove any edge that may be left. Last I applied only one coat of over-thinned clear coat with a mid-size touch-up gun. A beautiful paint job can be achieved with a minimal weight penalty if these techniques are used.
Choice of components is also very important. Keep weight in mind when choosing every component, I mean everything down to the last fuel dot or servo extension. Mount the components in the plane thinking about using the shortest and least amount of wire. Use more aluminum tubing and less silicone fuel tubing. I used a pull pull linkage system on the rudder and the elevator to save a little weight on the tail. If every detail is paid attention to a crashed plane can be rebuilt and still be underweight.
Was it worth rebuilding vs. buying a new one? Yes, without a doubt. It’s a great feeling to see all of your hard work take to the air once again. If you had to pay for the labor you would be better off buying a new plane, but if you have the ability and patience, it can be a lot less expensive and very rewarding to make the repairs.
I have to thank Brian Clemmons for his generosity in donating the plane to me. And Bryan Hebert for all of his expert advice anytime I had a question. So don’t be afraid to repair that crashed plane, it can be done.
Randy Hicks
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