Here is my GWS Pico Tiger Moth after nearly every flight.
Profoundly tired of constantly repairing the plane’s over-brittle wings, I decided to try adding some fiberglass for strength. I’m only glassing the wings out to about 1/3 – 1/2 of the way from the fuselage.
I bought a bolt of 0.55 oz fiberglass cloth. This was the lightest glass I could find. I’m using MinWax water-based polyurethane to bond it to the wing.
Encouragingly, the fiberglass and polyurethane added less than 3 grams to the weight of the lower wing. Sadly, I forgot to get before and after weights for the top wing but, hopefully, the repair should add less than 1/4 ounce to the plane’s weight. The new pilot probably adds more than that.
Post repair AUW: 303 grams. Pretty heavy for a Pico Moth, but whatcha gonna do?
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- 0.55oz fiberglass cloth
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- Laying glass on the lower wing.
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- Coat #1, drying
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- Lower wing repairs complete
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- Top wing repaired and ready for glassing.
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- Glassing the upper wing
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- Both wings glassed, sanded, and ready for re-assembly.
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- New pilot, ready to fly.
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- Re-maiden
The amazing news is that, not only does the plane still fly, but it can actually survive a minor crash!