tfdixon Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 I have an idea of a solution to this I am working on...hopefully I will have something to share soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Downs Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 I made plugs from cushion foam. The are larger than the holes so the hold themselves in and easy to take out for a peek and put right back in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbigs Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 some reading here http://ctflier.com/index.php?/topic/1074-winter-flying/?hl=%2Bcockpit+%2Bholes#entry7114 and here http://ctflier.com/index.php?/topic/451-burrrrrrr/?hl=%2Bcockpit+%2Bholes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
procharger Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Clear packing tape on all the holes works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdarza Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 On the other end... i wish i could get more air through those holes (hot over here). The side vents do provide more than enough but they also increase the loudness in the cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 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 My CTLS has tarp covers for the cargo access. I am running some of that weather stripping around the perimeter of the tarp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N89WD Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Cesnalis Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Even though our field is 7,100' elevation it is still California and it isn't that cold. I don't like even clear tape over my sight tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 I tape the site tube areas and just use a flashlight to see a fuel level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbigs Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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