Fairchild Club Forum

'Lads, I pulled the fabric, then the wood skin off my vert stab last night with
surprising ease. One rib was slightly cracked, but pn 12, (sec 111) the tail rib
was fully split from the rear spar up to the next vertical stringer, no.10. The crack
started from where some lout drilled a clumsy hole up thru the lower most bottom
rib to gain access right up thru the aft end of the stab. Witness to this was a safety
wire going from one end to the other perhaps in prep for feeding a wire or something
up through the area.

What interested me more was the way the plywood let go of the ribs and structure
so easily. The ply was in good shape but it let go of the ribs so easily it was a concern.
I don't know what was glue or varnish, but it dropped off at the joints of the ribs / skins
so easily that I broke no parts while peeling the plywood off the stringers or ribs.

The logs never showed any rebuild of the vertical or horizontal stab which are ply
covered. Many other parts have been documented as rebuilt and will receive due
review, but it is clearly apparent that the original glue joints of this 1941 example
are not intact in my example.

David Stroud, Ottawa, Canada
Christavia C-FDWS
F24 C-FDAE in restoration'

'I saw this on a set of Canadian built PT-26 wings.
The glue used had literally disappeared. Clean off
all the glue joints and use T-88 or something similar.
I would check all your wood structures for the same
problem. If the wood is in good shape decide if you
want to use it again.


--- David Stroud wrote:

> Lads, I pulled the fabric, then the wood skin off my
> vert stab last night with
> surprising ease. One rib was slightly cracked, but
> pn 12, (sec 111) the tail rib
> was fully split from the rear spar up to the next
> vertical stringer, no.10. The crack
> started from where some lout drilled a clumsy hole
> up thru the lower most bottom
> rib to gain access right up thru the aft end of the
> stab. Witness to this was a safety
> wire going from one end to the other perhaps in prep
> for feeding a wire or something
> up through the area.
>
> What interested me more was the way the plywood let
> go of the ribs and structure
> so easily. The ply was in good shape but it let go
> of the ribs so easily it was a concern.
> I don't know what was glue or varnish, but it
> dropped off at the joints of the ribs / skins
> so easily that I broke no parts while peeling the
> plywood off the stringers or ribs.
>
> The logs never showed any rebuild of the vertical or
> horizontal stab which are ply
> covered. Many other parts have been documented as
> rebuilt and will receive due
> review, but it is clearly apparent that the original
> glue joints of this 1941 example
> are not intact in my example.
>
> David Stroud, Ottawa, Canada
> Christavia C-FDWS
> F24 C-FDAE in restoration
>
>

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'I'm also getting to experience this expensive phenomena. We just
started looking closely at my wings (uncovered for restoration) and
found what appears to be a separating glue joint in the front spar.
A much closer inspection will be in order after the holiday, but I'm
afraid what we have found is a spar that was spliced at the factory
and the glue in the splice has simply deteriorated to nothing. Many
thanks to Jamie Treat for his insight into this problem. As he
pointed out, the glue in these airplanes was never intended to last
60 years. What a shame!

On a happier note, I'm trying to locate any surviving family members
of my airplanes' most notable owner - Charles Gupton of Lakewood,
CA. During his ownership of the airplane, it was featured on the
cover of the October, 1967 issue of "Private Pilot". The article
mentioned his wife and (then) teenage son. A Google search of his
name didn't turn up any results, so I'm thinking he is deceased. But
perhaps his wife or son are still living. Anybody have any ideas on
how to locate these folks? Any help would be most welcome; I've
managed to get some pictures of the airplane that were taken during
his ownership of it and it's obvious the airplane was part of the
Gupton family; it would be nice to find some of them and let them
know the status of the airplane and maybe get some more insight into
its history. Please let me know if you can help!

Best Wishes,
Brad Donner
NC77605'