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"