Strip and recover or fly as-is?

[jtprouty]

I bought a used KF1 that's been sitting for a long time. The covering on the fuselage is in great shape but there is surface corrosion on the tubes for the aft fuselage. Look like I need to recover the wings (all 10 flaperon hinges are broken) but I'm not sure what to do with the fuselage.

What's everyone think: Strip the fuselage so I can medial blast and repaint the fuselage and recover or leave it as-is until later?

Jimmy

[Esser]

If it really just is light surface corrosion and you can be confident there is something worse going in you could leave it. But you might not be able to get s real thorough inspection unless you remove the covering

[Dave S]

Jimmy,

Other than thinking of the immediate condition - consider if you don't clean up and recover; and, the existing cover job may fly for a good 20 years plus - what would you want to live with for the life of the existing covering job considering the corrosion has a start and will continue if not dealt with? The fuselage, by itself, does not take much material to recover.

[896tr]

OK Jimmy, my opinion (Which doesn't mean s... to a tree) is:
You just stepped out of the shower and notice in the mirror that you have a rash on your back, right in that spot that you can't reach no matter how much you stretch your arm and contort your hand and thumb. You wonder how long it has been lurking, undetected. Is it just a bug bite? An allergic reaction to something? Or OMG! is it an early sign of some form of CANCER?
Now that I've put those thoughts in your head why not strip it, fix it, recover it, and paint it the YOU want it painted. Covering really isn't hard to do, and you won't have to wonder, every time you fly it, was it just minor corrosion or was that little spot just hiding real trouble? My opinion is worth just what anyone would pay for it but from 4 years old to now, 65 years old, I have crashed alot of things in every category of piston engine vehicle and non motorized vehicle (nothing to be proud of and very expensive!). I am lucky that I walked away from every one of them but I for one am tired of getting hurt and it takes longer to heal as you get older so I no longer say "what the heck, I'm going for it! The first thing I thought in my last 3 crashes was AW CRAP! HOW LONG WILL THIS TAKE TO HEAL! Airplanes are only as safe as the wisdom of the pilot in command.
Good luck with your decision my friend.
Steve

[aviator79]

If you're already doing the wings, you'll probably never be better at covering airplanes then when you're done with that. Also, you probably won't match the paint perfectly between the wings and fuse, so you have an opportunity to make everything match and make the plane look new (at least from 15 feet.)

[ppilotmike]

Not being able to see what kind of corrosion you are talking about makes this just an opinion. If I had a fuselage with light surface rust I would leave it as is till after I flew the plane and made sure it was what I wanted. Model 1's are not real desireable planes so there value is fairly low, under $10K flying. Me I like them and operate mine as a heavy ultralight. How about some pictures? What S/N? Mike:)

[jtprouty]

Here's some pics of my KF1. It's going to need a lot of loving to get it back in the air but I'm up for the challenge. You can see the corrosion on the fuselage tubes. I haven't had a chance to dig really deep into it yet due to paying work on a couple of planes.

[PaulSS]

Do we get to put a second, third and fourth vote in to strip and recover? You wouldn't see me dead in that without a total teardown :eek:.

Maybe I should get off the fence and say what I really mean :)

[Dusty]

I would get someone to have a reeeal good look at it.From the photos it looks like it's been for a swim:eek:.Has any of the copper wiring gone Green?

[ppilotmike]

After seeing your pictures I would most definitely completely strip that down, inspect, and repair as required. Mike

[jtprouty]

Thanks, guys.

I'm definitely going for the strip and clean (can I say that in public?) :P

None of the wiring has any problems but will all be replaced. I'm going to put a Stratux in it and use ForeFlight for nav and weather. Keep basic steam gauges for altitude, airspeed, and engine but am thinking about putting one of the experimental EFIS systems in it.

The plane has sat under a shelter in the Kansas winds and a lot of dirt has blown into it. Basically going to do a ground up restoration on it.

Jimmy

[Paul Z]

I concur with PaulSS. If you decide to fly it as is, you might get caught dead.