My firewall blanket has some ragged edges.

[Roger Lee]

Hi Guys,

 

A very large number of you have a firewall blanket installed either at the factory or after you received your plane. In a few instances the edging of the firewall blanket gets rough and raw or any tape that might have been there may have peeled back? This is not a wide spread item, but some would like to dress it up again and make it look nice or keep the raw edges from working over your arms during maint.

An easy and fairly fast way to address this is to re-tape it with some aluminum tape. If you buy the heavy duty aluminum tape it will not stick because it is too ridged. Pick up some of the thinner aluminum tape. First clean the edges of the firewall with some lacquer thinner and the 1/2" edge where the cowl meets the fuselage. Tear the tape in about 6" pieces and put it on the top edge of the fuselage right up to the edge where the cowling sits. Then fold it over and around the edge on top of the firewall blanket edge. It will over lap about 1.5". Press it down well. I use the back smooth edge of a tool like the handle of a plastic pair of scissors I have to press it well on to the firewall blanket. Tear more pieces of tape and go all the way around the firewall and fuselage edge. Of course don't tape the cowling screw holes shut. Tape under those. Over lap each piece of tape by at least an inch. You can even double the tape for more strength. This is not a bad idea. By over lapping the fuselage edge where the cowling sets this will accomplish two things. One it keeps any abrasion down between the cowling and fuselage from vibration and it keeps the tape in place because it sticks very well to this plastic edge. It will look very professionally done and stay in place to keep any sharp edges away from your or your mechanics arms.

 

Hope this helps.