Airframe repair ?

[martin]

Hi
My 120 was recently damaged in a roll over landing accident. The struts, main gear and box are okay and the rear cone of the fuselage and tail feathers
The rest is damaged including the roof structure and spar carry through firewall engine cowls etc
I’ve found a good set of replacement wings and possibly a new cockpit including cowls which is the firewall back to the aft of the rear window. Its from a 140

Question :
So my new fuselage will be from to different aircraft, will the two different fuselages match in the middle?
Do I need a jig if so where can I get the drawings?

[6183]

I do know of a 120 that was in an accident that destroyed the fuselage after the owner hit a snow bank at an airport during landing roll where he evidently lost control of the airplane on the ground. Owner found a useable fuselage at a salvage yard, attached his wings and tail surfaces from his wrecked airplane, and is still flying it today. So I would say, yes it's possible, and he didn't use a jig that I'm aware of. If you really need additional information, PM me, and I can give you contacts who can tell you some details.

Mike

[8425]

David Lowe is much more qualified than me to answer, but I am pretty sure if you are very careful drilling apart the damaged parts so that you don't egg out the holes, you will be able to cleco/rivet the two airframes back together. No "jig" will be needed, BUT, you will need to build some saw horses shaped to support the fuselage as you fit the parts together. Cessna used tooling to punch or drill pilot holes so they match up very well.

[6183]

I agree David Lowe would be a good individual to talk to.

[VIP645]

Over the years I have completed repairs such as you are talking about but be careful in drilling out the rivets. You will need some supports for the fuselage. There are examples of how to build the supports in Cessna manuals but I can not remember which ones. I will look at my Cessna manuals and respond tomorrow. Feel free to call me at 770-361-0137. Earl Evans AP-IA

[VIP645]

You can look in the Cessna 100 series Service Manual 1963-1968. Structural repair section Figure 19-1 and there is a drawing with dimensions to build a fuselage support. You will need two. Earl Evans