Is this a good weld?

[LetMeFly]

Hi All,
I started to drill the second otbd rudder pedal base tube and noticed what looked like a hole in a weld. I got out my dremel and ground it down a bit (it was sticking up like a point.) Below is what I found. Is this a good weld with those holes in it?:eek:

26218

[jrevens]

Hi Greg,

Just based on where they are, and experience, I don't think there is anything to be concerned with... just my opinion. Seal them up with a little bit of primer & white paint. I would fill pinholes in the powder coat with something to seal them also... something like a little epoxy, or maybe even some silicone sealant. Just something to keep moisture out.

[109JB]

I wouldn't worry about that. Just a tiny bit of porosity. Want to see a really bad weld? This one is on my project airplane that flew for 20 or so years. It is the lateral cross tube that the top of the fiberglass seat lip rests on. Yep. Not welded half way around the tube and it got past Skystar QC, the builder, and everyone who inspected it for 20 years. In defense of everyone except Skystar, the powder coat totally hid this and filled the gap. Its welded now. Technically I guess it wasn't a bad weld since there was no weld to begin with.

26219

[airlina]

On my Series 5 under the Skystar regime, one of the first orders of business that was spelled out in the build manual was to carefully inspect each and every weld for quality and porosity . If pinholes were found they were filled with scotch weld (the predecessor to hysol) . In my inspection i found a few areas with pinholes that i filled but the biggest problem I found was poor quality control on tube prep and powder coat problems. Some areas I had to resandblast and prime and paint. Been flying it now for near 18 years and nothing has fallen off , so welds were good. Bruce N199CL.

[alexM]

On my Series 5 under the Skystar regime, one of the first orders of business that was spelled out in the build manual was to carefully inspect each and every weld for quality and porosity . If pinholes were found they were filled with scotch weld (the predecessor to hysol) . In my inspection i found a few areas with pinholes that i filled but the biggest problem I found was poor quality control on tube prep and powder coat problems. Some areas I had to resandblast and prime and paint. Been flying it now for near 18 years and nothing has fallen off , so welds were good. Bruce N199CL.

I think the 7 SS manual still says the first step is to inspect all welds and powder coating.

When I had some welding done on my Skystar built series 5 I had him look over the welds. He found a void back in the tail post area and took care of it.