Speaking of tape...

My fancy pants (a brand of wheel pant) have been done and re-done many times
over the years, going from dzu quick-connectors to phillips screws, having
fiberglass repairs, etc.

The halves firmly screw together just fine, and they're strong as a bridge
abutment, but the tight fit between the halves has been lost. They now have
a visible 1/3" to 1/2" gap at the seam that probably represents a fairly
significant aerodynamic drag under air loads. In fact, I've wondered if
that gap doesn't open up a bit under the load of a 140 knot wind, and has
maybe lead to some of the damage we've seen around the connectors.

It seems like a piece of tape (like is used in some aileron gap seals) over
the seam would take care of the problem. True, it would make removing the
wheel pants more of a pain, but we only remove them at annual, anyway.

What's the rule on something like this? Would this be considered an
owner-applied cosmetic modification, or something that needs some sort of
approval?

And does anyone have an on-line source for tape of his kind?

Thanks!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Mar 6, 9:36*pm, "Jay Honeck" wrote:
My fancy pants (a brand of wheel pant) have been done and re-done many times
over the years, going from dzu quick-connectors to phillips screws, having
fiberglass repairs, etc.

The halves firmly screw together just fine, and they're strong as a bridge
abutment, but the tight fit between the halves has been lost. *They now have
a visible 1/3" to 1/2" gap at the seam that probably represents a fairly
significant aerodynamic drag under air loads. *In fact, I've wondered if
that gap doesn't open up a bit under the load of a 140 knot wind, and has
maybe lead to some of the damage we've seen around the connectors.

It seems like a piece of tape (like is used in some aileron gap seals) over
the seam would take care of the problem. * True, it would make removing the
wheel pants more of a pain, but we only remove them at annual, anyway.

What's the rule on something like this? * Would this be considered an
owner-applied cosmetic modification, or something that needs some sort of
approval?

And does anyone have an on-line source for tape of his kind?

Thanks!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

1/2" gap... yeah it is most probably a source of drag. A stragically
placed piece of similar colored tape over the "offending" area falls
under the "owner applied cosmetic mod" in my eyes... YMMV. I guess my
question is,, What does Fancy Pants have to say about this poor mating
flaw?

Ben

Jay Honeck wrote:
My fancy pants (a brand of wheel pant) have been done and re-done many
times over the years, going from dzu quick-connectors to phillips
screws, having fiberglass repairs, etc.

The halves firmly screw together just fine, and they're strong as a
bridge abutment, but the tight fit between the halves has been lost.
They now have a visible 1/3" to 1/2" gap at the seam that probably
represents a fairly significant aerodynamic drag under air loads. In
fact, I've wondered if that gap doesn't open up a bit under the load of
a 140 knot wind, and has maybe lead to some of the damage we've seen
around the connectors.

It seems like a piece of tape (like is used in some aileron gap seals)
over the seam would take care of the problem. True, it would make
removing the wheel pants more of a pain, but we only remove them at
annual, anyway.

What's the rule on something like this? Would this be considered an
owner-applied cosmetic modification, or something that needs some sort
of approval?

And does anyone have an on-line source for tape of his kind?

The glider guys like this stuff...

http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/bowlus.htm