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

3M makes some thick but flexible clear tape that I used for gap seals on
my Decathlon elevator, and it made a huge difference. There's also the
much cheaper and colored versions of magic tape. A 0.5 inch gap seems
pretty big- Why don't they fit any more?

Those damned things have been repaired so many times, it's not even funny.

First the dzu connectors that originally joined the two halves wowed out the
holes over the decade(s) they were on the plane. When those holes got too
big, my A&P filled 'em in and re-drilled them for Phillips screws and
nutplates -- but, of course, the new holes might be a smidge off from the
original holes one way or the other....

Then, over the years since THAT repair was done, some nutplates have fallen
off (and been replaced), the new holes have wowed out (and been
re-fiberglassed), etc. Each subsequent repair introduces another variable,
and the end result is that the two halves firmly mate together, but with the
overlap between the two not quite so perfect.

The gap varies somewhat (the two pieces that mate are quite large) from 1/3
to 1/2", but with a solid "lip" of fiberglass backing the gap. The unit is
every bit as strong and sound as new, but that little gap just begs for a
piece of tape to smooth the airflow...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:Y1oAj.13142$TT4.11271@attbi_s22...

The gap varies somewhat (the two pieces that mate are quite large) from 1/3
to 1/2", but with a solid "lip" of fiberglass backing the gap. The unit is
every bit as strong and sound as new, but that little gap just begs for a
piece of tape to smooth the airflow...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"



Isn't that what high-speed (duct) tape is for?


:-o

Isn't that what high-speed (duct) tape is for?

A friend of mine experimented with duct tape on his flap gaps a few years
ago. Unfortunately he chose the flight into OSH for his test flight.

Imagine his horror when he couldn't deploy the flaps when trying to land on
the green dot, short behind another aircraft...

Duct tape isn't a great choice for that sort of thing...

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

On Mar 8, 8:40*am, "Jay Honeck" wrote:
Isn't that what high-speed (duct) tape is for?

A friend of mine experimented with duct tape on his flap gaps a few years
ago. *Unfortunately he chose the flight into OSH for his test flight.

Imagine his horror when he couldn't deploy the flaps when trying to land on
the green dot, short behind another aircraft...

Duct tape isn't a great choice for that sort of thing...

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

Tape on a joint that will expand during its movement is not a smart
thing to do. In fact that pilot should hang his head in shame for not
using common sense. Without seeing the application my guess is he
taped up the top of the wing/flap joint, the better way would have
been to tape the lower joint, that one usually gets smaller during
its travel. YMMV.. Either way, OSH is not the place to pull off a test
phase of stupidity....

Tailwinds.

Ben.

On Sat, 08 Mar 2008 14:40:02 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

Isn't that what high-speed (duct) tape is for?

A friend of mine experimented with duct tape on his flap gaps a few years
ago. Unfortunately he chose the flight into OSH for his test flight.

Imagine his horror when he couldn't deploy the flaps when trying to land on
the green dot, short behind another aircraft...

Duct tape isn't a great choice for that sort of thing...

;-)

grey duct tape is good for 150knots provided that none of the edges
protrude through the boundary layer. ...but I dont know about it's
load bearing qualities over an air gap with dynamic pressure to one
side though.

for bridging a half inch gap the sort of polyurethane tape used for
sealing plastic cloches in england is pretty good. I use some for
sealing the gap between the tailplane and the fuselage on the
Tailwind. sure it's a different colour to the white paint (a light
green translucent colour) but it has stayed in place for 4 years.

the glider guys use some sort of surgical tape that has embeded fiber
reinforcing across the width of the tape.

why are you so worried about "approval" for sealing a drag source?
I'd be more worried to degrease the area of the glue bond than to seek
approval to tape up a spat. after all this isnt structural and it is
supposed to be gap free.

Stealth Pilot

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:6zxAj.13756$TT4.3960@attbi_s22...
Isn't that what high-speed (duct) tape is for?

A friend of mine experimented with duct tape on his flap gaps a few years
ago. Unfortunately he chose the flight into OSH for his test flight.

Imagine his horror when he couldn't deploy the flaps when trying to land
on the green dot, short behind another aircraft...

Duct tape isn't a great choice for that sort of thing...


No kidding. An example of a better way:
http://www.wingsandwheels.com/asw20_seal_tapes.htm

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
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