Parkzone Icon A5 tail fix

A week ago I had a very hard crash with my Parkzone Icon A5 after a radio glitch (or elevator servo problem?) caused the airplane to dive at high speed into the lake.

The fuselage glue together nicely with white Gorilla glue. The tail, on the other hand, was a problem. The foam was crushed in one area making it really difficult to glue it back together straight. I decided to insert a small carbon fiber reinforcement to keep it straight.

Carbon strip recycled from a RIP aircraft

Sizing it up

I chose to insert the carbon in the natural joint between the vertical stabilizer and the fuselage foam pieces. I had to use an X-acto knife to lengthen and deepen the slot to make room for the carbon strip.

I manually held the tail as straight as possible, inserted the carbon strip, then wicked in some foam-safe thin CA. Once the strip was tacked into place, I filled the slot with some thick foam-safe CA and used some accelerator to cure it.

Finished product

I haven't yet flown it.... I'm crossing my fingers that everything is straight and true!