Damaged 5” Fiberglass Airframe - Repair or Not?

[jeff2space]

I haven’t posted for quite sometime so I thought I would throw this out there for discussion (I already know what I will do). I’m building a Wildman Drago 5XL I’ve had in storage for a couple years. Somehow it was damaged (see photo). Two cracks form an X like something pointed hit it. It’s about a third of the way down the tube. Would you repair the damage? How would you repair it?

 

[3stoogesrocketry]

A short length of coupler glued in will be just fine .

 

[Cameron Anderson]

Yep, coupler.

If you wanted to get real froggy, you could drill the damaged part out and fill the hole with epoxy too.

 

[cwbullet]

I would sand and put in a coupler

 

[GRIFFIN]

I would fill the cracks with thin CA glue. It will soak in and be stronger than the rest of the tube. Sand to finish, good as new.

 

[dshmel]

I would fill the cracks with thin CA glue. It will soak in and be stronger than the rest of the tube. Sand to finish, good as new.

+1

 

[Flyfalcons]

Thin CA is magical for issues like this.

 

[jderimig]

I would fill the cracks with thin CA glue. It will soak in and be stronger than the rest of the tube. Sand to finish, good as new.

+3 That barely qualifies as damage.

 

[Rrwjr]

I would follow Griffins advice, I did something very similar and it worked great. I probably over did it but I went in from both sides. Hard to tell from picture that might not be an option for you.

 

[Joe Rocket 97]

Drill out the end of each crack, so Theydon"t spread.
Bevel the cracks a bit.
Line inside the damage with some masking tape.
Mix some west systems epoxy with some filler or rocketpoxy .
Fill the damaged area.
Allow to dry thoroughly.
Sand the damaged area so it looks good prime and paint.
Don’t forget to remove the masking tape on the back side of the damage

 

[dshmel]

I have a handful of WM's translucent colored FG rockets along with another rocket that I left au naturel. Anything beyond a little thin CA is overkill. If you want a cosmetic fix, I suggest some decals. They are available for any size "boo-boo."

 

[jeff2space]

I like the boo-boo decals.

 

[jeff2space]

I would fill the cracks with thin CA glue. It will soak in and be stronger than the rest of the tube. Sand to finish, good as new.

I originally wasn’t going to to anything but I like the CA glue solution. Thanks.