Having completed the third rebuild of my Fantasia, it’s time for the next project.

Some 13 years ago, I came to Indore (where I still live), and found a group of RC flyers.
I was reentering RC after several years and didn’t have any models from the past, just my trusty Hitec Optic 6.
(Ah, but I still had the Supertigre 40 and the Anniversary Cub I bought in 1996, still in kit form)

Then one of my new friends gave me a crashed Citabria to fix and fly if I wished.

I did rebuild the front end then (I seem to be specialising in nose jobs!)

And there the project remained for 12 years.

Till now...

P.S. Always thought it was a Citabria, maybe because my first RC model in 1981 was one.
But just noticed the wing section.
It’s a DECATHLON!

Wing centre section damage is surprising as it had an aluminium tube joiner epoxied into both wing halves...

Root rib of one wing seems to have detached itself and gone with other wing!

One half of joiner tube has dried epoxy, and the other is squeaky clean!

And how was the tube inserted with that bell mouth and collar at one end?

Learnt two new things today.

1. Colour flaking off the covering film (pic 1).

2. When I peeled some of the covering off, clear film came away, leaving patches of colour behind.
I was wondering how I’d deal with the patches if I took the entire covering off.
As an experiment, I dipped a rag in a little thinner, and tried to wipe a patch off.

Surprise!
Instead of the colour getting removed, it spread evenly over the wiped area.
Compare the wiped center section of the port wing with that of the starboard wing (pic 2)

I wonder whether I’d be left with a red balsa structure if I removed all the covering and wiped the wood with thinner and a rag!

Following. Look forward to updates

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