Saturday was another clear and cool day. It had been this way for over a week now. It had been getting warmer and was a positive sign of good things to come. At 8AM or so, it was in the 30’s but promised to warm up into the 40’s. I took my tools and headed for Crystal. I needed to get the two remaining wing wires that had been cut by the EMT’s, and also the keel spar unattached from the wing. The wires were needed to take to some place that would fabricate replacements to all the wing wires. The keel was bent and needed to be straightened, if that was possible without compromising its integrity.
This turned out to be a difficult project. I opened the hanger door and struggled to carry the rolled-up wing out to the grassy area in front. Fortunately the snow had melted enough for actual grass to show. Although brown and wet, it was grass, and much more forgiving on the wing fabric than the asphalt taxiway would have been.
After spreading out the wing, I unbolted the keel spar. It was tedious and time-consuming, but not exceptionally difficult. The difficult part came trying to access the cable ends which are bolted to the wing crossbar at the point where they attach to the leading-edge spars on both sides. The wing fabric envelope is two-sided, with the wing crossbar assembly between the two layers. The cable ends were completely hidden within the envelope. But after studying the situation, and by unbolting the wing fabric from the leading-edge spars at the ends, I was able to slide the fabric envelope up to reveal the ends. This sounds easier than it was. It took some time and dexterity to accomplish this, but I was able to get it done. The cables came off easily.
I put the cables into the car. The keel was not as easy; it was longer than would fit into the Camry, however with the nifty rear seat access to the trunk, the keel just fit when placed diagonally with one end on the dashboard, and the other at the end of the trunk.
However, in the course of this sub-project, after sliding the fabric envelope up to unbolt the cable on the left side, I discovered that the leading edge main spar on the left side was bent a couple of degrees. This did not come as good news because it was unexpected, though in retrospect not surprising given what the Jetwing had gone through; it seems that every time I turn around, there was another serious problem with the project. I had said all along that I was not going to proceed with the project if it looked like the wing was damaged, and now I am faced with that exact scenario. The keel spar and the leading-edge spar are both bent.
After arriving home, I searched the web for opinions on whether or not these pieces could be straightened , and the prevailing opinions I received indicated that these members were so strategic to the integrity of the aircraft that they needed to be replaced.
Now what do I do? This may be a watershed moment. Do I continue pouring good time and throw good money after bad, or do I finally concede defeat and sell off the pieces that remain and write off the whole thing? I decided the first step would be to take the keel spar to the machine shop and ask Eric’s opinion about the structural integrity of the spar, and whether or not it could be straightened. Then I’ll decide what to do.
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