Dietrich Slick suggested wing check.

[Tired Old Man]

Rob,

You made it very clear in the beginning that the thread was for informative purposes and not for spite. Information that could and would save another plane is very important, especially when easy fixes can be made at home and the infomation provides details a manufacturer might use to consider minor design changes. That ends up good for all.

BTW, my other post was one of curiousity regarding an earlier statement you had made.

[cwhite]

Rob,
Thank you for this thread and the heads up. I only have 3 flights on mine so far and can tell that it is going to be a great plane. Can some more pics posted of the damage and fix. I think this would be a good opportunity for Dietrich to possibly post a few pics on how to fix this if they think it is a problem. Here's my question. I currently don't have any failure like you did but should I do some preventative strengthening to this area or just watch for it?

pfoil,
You say "you really don't know how much damage this thread can do". Should have said "you really don't know how much damage this thread could prevent".

Thanks again Rob.

[buttface]

Yea.......peefoil........

Its easy to see who is trying to start conflict hear guys.

If you read peefoils profile you will understand that he seems to have a very abrasive attitude ....

[BOSSIER_ROB]

Chris, I think if you add an anti rotation dowel ahead of that area, you might be alright. The first thing discussed at the field, when I found the crack, was the obvious, that the wing was trying to rotate on the tube. If you add the dowel now, you may never stress the seam and it may never break. I don't have any more pics. I slotted it, glued the joiner in, and covered it up so I could go fly. I could explain it a little better if needed. Just PM me. Buttface? It's ok dude. No need to start anything. I understand his point. I put some thought into this before starting this thread to try to avoid it getting twisted like he did. It's all good.

[SleepyC]

Wow. I was gone all weekend (wife's 40th birthday AND Valentines day) and I came back to all kinds of fun today.

I see both sides of the coin here. I see the value of posting this thread to alert other members, but I also can see the damage this kind of thread can cause. We forget just how powerful the words displayed on FG are. It's also amazing how some people will read the entire post and ignore any words they feel like and only take away negative points.

Bob, I can see you have nothing but good intension's with your post, and from the responses here, it seems like you are all supportive of Kevin and his products. And this is the FG spirit. I think what I can do to help everyone understand the intent is to slightly alter the thread title.

In the past I personally made a simple mistake with a picture choice for a leading edge article. And that single picture caused a manufacturer all kinds of grief, I was blown away how one picture caused an issue and how powerful posts and images on FG can be.

[JeremyHolt]

	Quote: Originally Posted by pfoil
	This is the sort of post that should be deleted. Bossier_Bob I'm sure you had good intension's in posting this information, but did you ever consider the kind of damage this type of post does to a small business? As far as you know, your issue is isolated and is not a design flaw, it may be an issue with your plane only. There are so many personal factors that could lead to something like this. Do you have wing bags? Do they fit the wings properly? Were the wings bolts snugged down to tight. The questions are endless. I think the smart thing to have done would have been a call to Dietrich aircraft on Monday to see and what they say. But no.. this post is put up on a weekend, it can get all kinds of attention and potentially ruins Dietrich Aircraft. You and the others that have posted here have already deemed the situation a "design flaw" without consulting the plans or consulting the designer of the plane. That is bad policy on your part. And People wonder why companies disappear, well this type of thread is your answer. Think about it, Some twit in BFE who believes all he reads on the internet looks at this entire thread and the only words he comes away with are "Do not buy this plane". You guys really don't know how much damage this thread can do. The moderation should pull this thread until Dietrich is contacted and the wings sent in to be inspected. You did not bother to do this, instead you cut holes in them and "fixed" the situation. So now the manufacturer has to deal with this thread and all the morons who will be taking this information as gospel, when so far from the looks of it, one in a hundred planes has had any problem. Wow.. I'm glad I work in a field where people can't do this to me.

Really?! You should be thanking him being that he took a professional approach to the problem and is warning others out there with a solid fix. I think the tally is up to four airplanes with the same issue now so it is well past a fluke. Who wants to ship their wings all across the country waiting for months to get them back when it could be fixed in a night. All companies are going to have problems with a first line of "anything." It not going to stop other from buying. When peoples wings start flying off from keeping this problem underwraps is when people would stop buying.

[sinergy]

	Quote: Originally Posted by buttface
	If you read peefoils profile you will understand that he seems to have a very abrasive attitude ....

LOL.. thats the most rediculous "About Me" I have ever read.

[Mithrandir]

	Quote: Originally Posted by SleepyC
	............In the past I personally made a simple mistake with a picture choice for a leading edge article. And that single picture caused a manufacturer all kinds of grief, I was blown away how one picture caused an issue and how powerful posts and images on FG can be.

Well... C'mon Dawg.... Taking that picture in front of the Donkey Show really was bad judgement!!!

he he he he

[SleepyC]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Mithrandir
	Well... C'mon Dawg.... Taking that picture in front of the Donkey Show really was bad judgement!!! he he he he

[cwhite]

Think I'll add another dowel. I don't know if I'm convinced that is the issue. Maybe part of it. When I put my wings on, especially the right wing, I notice a 1/4" gap in the back when I tighten the front fastener. When you tighten the back fastener I think stress is put on the area that yours failed. I think if you would tighten the front and then add a spacer to the back prior to adding the back fastener that it would releive some stress in that area. Just thinking. Don't be alarmed, I do it once a week or so.

[BOSSIER_ROB]

My wings fit flush with no bolts, just one in the front, or just one in the back. I don't have any gaps so I know on mine, that's not what caused it. I'm confident that a dowel in front of the hinge line will prevent it from cracking. even if it decided to blow completely off the plane, the more forward dowel would prevent the wing from rotating and you'll still have the front screw to hold it on and it also funtions as an anti rotation pin. I spoke with Kevin and he said he'd look into moving the anti ratation forward on future production runs. He was pleasant as usual.

I'll say it one more time just so it can be seen. I would recommend this aircraft to anyone! I haven't found any issues that weren't simple. I've never owned any brand of arf that didn't have some bugs. That's just the way it is. Out of any aircraft I've ever owned, to date, this is my favorite. I can say that with only 13 flights on the plane. Kevin has this one nailed! I was affraid to post anything for the simple fact that someone always twists the facts and turns things nasty. My only intention was to make a potential problem known in a quick matter in hopes that someone else didn't have something break and be out an airplane. Then they would be squaking all over the net saying the planes a POS and that would be not only bad for Dietrich, but completely untrue. I formally apologize for any inconvenience to Kevin that this thread may have brought about. I hope my info has been helpfull to not only him , but the rest of you guys that have or are waiting for a Slick. I'd want to know if there was anything that could cause me a loss and would hope that someone would let me know so I could prevent it from happening. Good luck and enjoy your new planes! We'll have to have a Slick rally at the Nall.

Oh yea, one more thing, STOP CALLING ME BOB!!! LOL

[buttface]

	Quote: Originally Posted by sinergy
	LOL.. thats the most rediculous "About Me" I have ever read.

click on "friends" and it says peefoil has not made any friends yet....lol

[scottflyrc]

Rob, i agree with you 100% about the quality of the Dietrich line, it's top notch!!!! Just ask the club members at my field when I was trying to break the prototypes LOL I could only bend wing tubes!!!

Scott H.

[SLC]

Guys this happend to me on the 42% Dietich Extra 260. I repaired by spreading the crack and using Goilla glue. I've
probably got 50 flights since then and the crack has not come back. I think the rear wing bolt should have been
ahead of the hinge line. When you tighten the rear wing bolt into that small section of wing behind the hinge line
its puts a lot of stress in that corner where the aileron was cut out. In short it would be better to move the bolt
instead of the antirotation dowel.

Sam C

[BoneDoc]

Great post Rob, and a good warning for current / future Slick owners out there.