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Cockpit wing access holes


tfdixon

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I am probably re-inventing the wheel but could not find anything on this site to answer my question.  It is winter in Idaho and cold.  I have tried, without great sucess, to cover the access holes for the wings and controls at the top sides of the fuselage.  I made clear plastic circles and used double sided tape, the same tape we use on control fairing covers for gliders which hold on at speeds in excess of 150 mph.  The idea is to reduce the amount of wind and cold into the cockpit during winter flights.  The tape does not work because of the paint on the inside of the cockpit with the texture to ir.. Tape can not make smooth contact and with the cold and a bit of pressure behind it, off they come.  Hate to use anykind of glue or adhesive that might damage the finish when the covers need to be removed and want to have clear ones so I can see the control connections as part of the pre flight inspections.

Tom

 

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I am probably re-inventing the wheel but could not find anything on this site to answer my question.  It is winter in Idaho and cold.  I have tried, without great sucess, to cover the access holes for the wings and controls at the top sides of the fuselage.  I made clear plastic circles and used double sided tape, the same tape we use on control fairing covers for gliders which hold on at speeds in excess of 150 mph.  The idea is to reduce the amount of wind and cold into the cockpit during winter flights.  The tape does not work because of the paint on the inside of the cockpit with the texture to ir.. Tape can not make smooth contact and with the cold and a bit of pressure behind it, off they come.  Hate to use anykind of glue or adhesive that might damage the finish when the covers need to be removed and want to have clear ones so I can see the control connections as part of the pre flight inspections.

Tom

 

You can use wide packing tape as a temp solution.  I had some on that lasted for a whole year.

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Cover the wing root gaps on the outside with either Bolus maxi tape or clear packing tape. Cover the holes on the inside with clear packing tape. It sticks. I have been doing it this way for 7 years. Cover the wing spar pin holes too. Then since you live in really cold country and if you have an SW take a piece of 2" foam the size the opening behind the seat and put it in the opening to stop cold air entry from behind the seat. Then you MUST ABSOLUTELY put soft foam around the door jam on the outside of the existing door seal. This is the biggest air leak area on most CT. I can fly in short sleeves if it is 0F outside. Make sure the heater hose on top of the muffler has no holes in it and make sure the heater door opens fully when the heater knob is pulled out all the way.

 

If you don't do these things your cabin will never really get warm. My heater will drive you out of the cabin so long as all things are sealed.

 

p.s.

My temps here aren't cold enough so I don't have the foam behind the seat in my SW.

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Cover the wing root gaps on the outside with either Bolus maxi tape or clear packing tape. Cover the holes on the inside with clear packing tape. It sticks. I have been doing it this way for 7 years. Cover the wing spar pin holes too. Then since you live in really cold country and if you have an SW take a piece of 2" foam the size the opening behind the seat and put it in the opening to stop cold air entry from behind the seat. Then you MUST ABSOLUTELY put soft foam around the door jam on the outside of the existing door seal. This is the biggest air leak area on most CT. I can fly in short sleeves if it is 0F outside. Make sure the heater hose on top of the muffler has no holes in it and make sure the heater door opens fully when the heater knob is pulled out all the way.

 

If you don't do these things your cabin will never really get warm. My heater will drive you out of the cabin so long as all things are sealed.

 

p.s.

My temps here aren't cold enough so I don't have the foam behind the seat in my SW.

 

Are you wedging the foam so that it's side by side with the door seal? I haven't test flown yet, but I just got done doing this.

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Take a piece of 2" wide foam that is larger than the hole behind the seat in an SW. Then gut it a tad bigger than the hole shape and then just put it in the opening.  If you leave it a little bigger then you don't need anything to hold it in place.

The cold air will then be blocked.

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Take a piece of 2" wide foam that is larger than the hole behind the seat in an SW. Then gut it a tad bigger than the hole shape and then just put it in the opening.  If you leave it a little bigger then you don't need anything to hold it in place.

The cold air will then be blocked.

 

Door seals. Not the cargo bay access :P

 

My CTLS has tarp covers for the cargo access. I am running some of that weather stripping around the perimeter of the tarp.

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post-38-0-03406800-1420460199_thumb.jpg

 

 

14* was the high for the day. Toasty warm thanks to everything that has been talked about on this thread. Iv'e had my CT for 8 years and you learn what works in the wx. It's nice when the DA is 700' lower than field elevation. Out for some fun in the cold Western Wyoming Sun.

 

Happy Trails

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Maybe I'm using the wrong type of tape, but 3M packing tape over my holes would not stick to the paint.  And I am with CT, I tried tape over the sight tube area and hated the glare from the tape and immediately removed it.

 

The cheap packing tape from Lowe's works...try that...

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