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Speed (bolus) tape techniques


Brad

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I read the topic http://ctflier.com/index.php?/topic/1549-wing-tape-tip/with comments on applying speed tape to the wing roots.  A couple of good tips in there (double tape the leading edge, do not stretch the tape, etc.).  I am interested in some other finer points to help not make my work look like a hatchet job.

 

1.  What is the best way to get the tape applied to the underside of the wing root?  I can never get a clean looking application, but have tried several ways to do it.  Getting the tape cleanly in that 90-degree angle is a challenge as the tape does not adhere the way I want it to.

 

2.  What about getting the tape to look good around the portion of the leg fairings that attach to the fuselage?  I've had good, but inconsistent results by going very slowly and stretching the tape to follow the curve of the fairing.

 

3.  What is the best way to remove old tape residue?  Goo Gone?

 

Thank you in advance for helping make my CTLS look more "professionally" maintained!

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For the underside of the wing: my technique is to have someone help. Two people is even better. Don't stretch it. When you pull the tape off the roll, do it slowly. Stretching is what causes the wrinkles.

 

You'll need some sort of tool like the hook pick pictured here: http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_16048.jpg. Note: a hook pick also refers to a type of lock pick, make sure you don't order that :P.

 

First, wash and dry the area.

 

Glove up with powderless gloves so you don't dirty up the sticky side.

 

String it out under the wing with a little bit extra (to be trimmed later) and fold it over, sticky side out, but don't apply it yet.

 

Starting from the back, tuck the hook pick into the folded tape, with the point facing to the tail, and press one side against the fuselage, using the hook to guide it as close to the corner as possible. Don't stick it to the wing yet. Follow with the hook, going forward, tucking the tape as far into the corner as reasonable. Then, go back and stick the tape to the wing. There may be some wrinkles, especially if you got wide tape. It's really hard to get absolutely perfect, the goal is to make it reasonable.

 

Now, getting the tape to wrap around without wrinkling to the top is next to impossible. I prefer to just divide it into two sections. Cut it a little short of the front and trim the back section. Now, lay down the top side, and wrap it around to cover up the edge of the bottom tape and it will be fine.

 

Fairing: Go slow. Don't obsess over it. Again, helps if you don't buy wide tape. As you move around the fairing, press the tape down. It might help if you have some sort of rubber pad to tamp it as you go.

 

Goo gone will remove the old stuff. Or use acetone. If you use acetone, just dab some acetone on, let it work, and wipe. Don't scrub, because you'll take a tiny bit of the top layer of paint with it. Or, just grab an orange and squirt the juice on it. Some types of glue come right off! There are citrus cleaners that are basically the same thing. Naptha is another thing you can try. Or lighter fluid!

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I'm glad I don't think it is as hard as everybody else does, or I would throw a fit doing it. I don't have any problem with the tape being stretched a little. I have never had a problem with needing it doubled up at the leading edge.

I start at the trailing edge on top with a nice clean straight cut edge. I pull the tape snugly forward keeping it centered over gap. As I pass the leading edge I use a soft cloth to push into the curved area. Once past that I establish a straight line on the lower surface of the wing, and push the tape over to and down the fuselage with a rubber squeegee. If I don't like how things are looking I pull the tape up and put it back down where I want it.

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Seems like a lot of extra work and the tape may get stuck together. I just clean the surface with Goof-Off. Then start the tape on the top back edge of the wing root. Don't stretch it just lay it down. Unroll as you go. Take it all the way forward and then under the wing to the back edge. I use my little finger to form the tape into the curve underneath. Don't have long fingernails or use the edge of your nail as it will cut the tape. Then I take another piece of tape and start back on top about 8"-10" from the leading edge and cut enough to go over the leading edge and back under about 8". This is just a double layer on the leading edge because of the high pressure wind usually over a little time will split the leading edge tape, but never does a double layer. One wing takes about 4-5 minutes total. I use 1" tape on the trim tab gap on both the top and bottom gaps.  When done like this it should last 2 years for the next wing pull.

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I do about the same as others for the wing underside but I use one of the old Eberhard Faber pink 1' x 2" desk erasers with the wedge ends to run along the tape - applying slight pressure to the part of the tape which lays on the fuselage and wing/fuselage joint as I slide the eraser along the tape.  Holding the eraser with one hand and feeding the precut length of tape as I go, I press the tape into the wing/fuselage joint with the small radiused wedge end of the eraser and try not to put any pressure on the half of the tape which lays on the wing surface.  If the tape doesn't go into the joint as tight as I would like, I stop and pull up an inch or so of the tape that's not going into the joint and start the process again.  When I get to the rear of this wing underside, I then go back and apply pressure to the other half of the tape that is on the wing and press this onto the wing with a rag of something that slips along the tape. The eraser pushes the tape into the joint like a very small pinkie finger but doesn't have a fingernail which can cut the tape.  I radius the ends of the wedge to eliminate any "points" which will stretch the tape.   I like the idea of putting a crease in the tape and will try this next time.

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The ugliest part of mt CTLS is the tape around the gear fairings. Over the year that I've owned her, that area has gotten totally wrinkled. I can see that the radius the tape needs to take it pretty tight. Has anyone tried to make some slits on the inside of the curve to relieve some of the "stress wrinkles"? (I just made that name up, as I can't figure another way to describe it!

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  • 2 weeks later...

The ugliest part of mt CTLS is the tape around the gear fairings. Over the year that I've owned her, that area has gotten totally wrinkled. I can see that the radius the tape needs to take it pretty tight. Has anyone tried to make some slits on the inside of the curve to relieve some of the "stress wrinkles"? (I just made that name up, as I can't figure another way to describe it!

Anyone? Anyone?

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The ugliest part of mt CTLS is the tape around the gear fairings. Over the year that I've owned her, that area has gotten totally wrinkled. I can see that the radius the tape needs to take it pretty tight. Has anyone tried to make some slits on the inside of the curve to relieve some of the "stress wrinkles"? (I just made that name up, as I can't figure another way to describe it!

 

 

While not perfect, what I was able to do was to put the tape on very slowly and elongate the tape as it was applied in a circular fashion.  Basically, you stretch it onto shape as it is applied.  There is minor wrinkling (but looks no worse than when FD did it themselves).  The only downside is that the integrity of the stretched tape is not that great, so the tape will eventually split and need to be reapplied.  According to FD, do not put tape around the bottom of the fairing - the flexion from the legs renders it useless, may act to pull the anchored top part of the faring from the fuselage, and may lead to cracking of the fairing.  The same is true for the top part of the fairings above the tires.

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Just thinking about this and I recall buying some white electrical tape a while ago. Never used this but figured it would be good to keep on hand. I'm curious if this might work for those needing to make their fairings look better? This tape is strong and allows stretching - as one might do when taping electrical wires. The downside is it might eventually sag and show adhesive and need reapplication? Just a thought. This also comes in many colors and believe it can be found in 3/4" and 1" widths.

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My airplane has never had tape on the gear fairings.  It seems to me like a lot of effort for little to no benefit.

My issue is that the rear part of the fairing is cracked where it is attached to the airframe, so literally the speed tape is helping to hold the fairing in place (and it works!).  Too expensive and complicated a job to replace the fairing when a cost effective solution exists.

 

 

Just thinking about this and I recall buying some white electrical tape a while ago.

 

Before going through the effort of taping with the electrical tape, perhaps making a test patch somewhere might be useful.  The characteristics of electrical tape (U/V and water resistance, residue issues, adhesion in high winds) might make it a poor substitute.

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My airplane has never had tape on the gear fairings.  It seems to me like a lot of effort for little to no benefit.

 

Andy, the CTSW has a fairing that is an integral part of the fuselage, because it is glued on. The fairing for the CTLS is not. The first LS's didn't have anything but tape holding the fairing in place, the later airplanes have an attachment at the front and rear. Where your fairing has filler and paint over  the seam the CTLS uses tape.

 

As for applying the tape I use the 1.5" tape for the gear fairings. You need to stretch the tape just enough so that you don't have excess material on the inside perimeter, otherwise it will wrinkle. I normally do it with one piece of tape, but I have seen 3 used. 3 pieces required trimming of the tape to make it look nice, but trimming has its own issues. Go slow and keep the tape centered on the edge of the fairing and it should look OK.

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My issue is that the rear part of the fairing is cracked where it is attached to the airframe, so literally the speed tape is helping to hold the fairing in place (and it works!).  Too expensive and complicated a job to replace the fairing when a cost effective solution exists.

 

 

Well, that makes perfect sense!  :)

 

 

Andy, the CTSW has a fairing that is an integral part of the fuselage, because it is glued on. The fairing for the CTLS is not. The first LS's didn't have anything but tape holding the fairing in place, the later airplanes have an attachment at the front and rear. Where your fairing has filler and paint over  the seam the CTLS uses tape.

 

 

Interesting, I didn't know that about the CTLS.  That part of my CTSW is not moving, it's very solid.  I have even used that fairing stub to push/pull the airplane forward or back a few inches to get a tire valve in the right spot under the wheel pant to add air. 

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The CTLSi main gear fairings do not move and only the top of the fairing where it fits flush to the body is taped.  The wing root tape always creases and will eventually crack unless you use two or more layers.   Lone Mountain replaces all the tape for free as part of their annual work.

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I don't bother with the wing tape on my CT. I really can't tell that it serves any useful purpose, other that hiding the gap. In addition it done wrong it looks worse than not having done anything.

Interesting thought - what is the purpose of the tape: esthetics or drag reduction (or something else like noise or interior draft reduction)?  Does anyone have a concrete answer?  Tom - I assume you experience no stronger than normal interior drafts?  Noise?

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I don't bother with the wing tape on my CT. I really can't tell that it serves any useful purpose, other that hiding the gap. In addition it done wrong it looks worse than not having done anything.

 

I tape the top and leading edge, but stop about 4" in on the underside.  Again, too much effort for no real reward.  

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Interesting thought - what is the purpose of the tape: esthetics or drag reduction (or something else like noise or interior draft reduction)?  Does anyone have a concrete answer?  Tom - I assume you experience no stronger than normal interior drafts?  Noise?

 

The tape may cut down on moisture getting in if you leave the airplane sit in the rain. There might be a slight reduction in drafts, but not much. Anyway I much prefer more drafts for summer flying, and it doesn't eliminate them for winter flying.

 

I had one CT in the shop that somebody had sealed with white silicone. What a mess!

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As it wears and develops a gap my wing root tape begins to act like a stall warning.  Somewhere between round out and touch down it starts whistling.  I kinda like it.

 

You should patent that!  Recently the tail end of the tape on top of my right wing root began vibrating in flight and it sounded like a major mechanical issue with my flaps.  Glad to find out it wasn't (and happy my wife wasn't flying with me that day - noises like that are very disconcerting).

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As it wears and develops a gap my wing root tape begins to act like a stall warning.  Somewhere between round out and touch down it starts whistling.  I kinda like it.

 

I had a piece that tore and started making a roaring noise about 105kt...sounded like the airplane was coming apart.  It scared the hell out of me, it's amazing hoe much noise a piece of tape can make in a stiff wind!

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