Okay I had a major crash with my Mini Apprentice S. The firewall must be replaced, are there any techniques that I can use to get the old one off? Looks to be glued to the Styrofoam, and it could get ugly! Any help other that scrapping the plane would be helpful.
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A long, thin hobby knife could work, but the firewall may have molded protrusions on the back to add strength, that are embedded into the foam. This makes replacing it that much harder, and you may need to think on how to bind the new firewall securely. Alternatively, you may just order a new fuse, if available, and transfer the parts over. -
WintrSol,
Thanks for responding so quickly, I was leaning the direction you suggested. This was a Mini Apprentice S and newer or older versions may not have the same design. I will describe what I did so others may learn from it and maybe improve on it. First, a word of caution, I used a torch to heat a utility blade, so I had to be careful handling something hot and also very sharp!
There are 4 anchors (about 1/2 inch in length). I heated up an utility knife and melted the plastic on the firewall surrounding these anchor points. I was then able to extract them one at a time, and made sure I marked where they were so I would be able to place the new firewall back into these locations. Then using the utility knife with a new blade, I was able to free the remainder of the firewall by gently cutting the rubbery glue from the firewall. I had removed the center to allow access to the firewall edges. So, once the new firewall arrives, I should be all set although after close inspection, it looks like my wing has about had it. I will order a new one an see if I can repair the old one for emergency sake.Comment
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And, that's why they call in modelling. Great insight on your part to get what you need done.Comment
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I'd order a new fuselage, if it's under $50. That sounds like a complex break, and getting a new fuse may be the better way to go.Comment
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