A question on covering a plane

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Thaman
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A question on covering a plane

Post by Thaman »

which is lighter packing tape or ripstop i have heared eather way or they about the same?
Hat Trick
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Post by Hat Trick »

It depends!

The packing tape is really light and doesn't add much weight at all but also has little strength. Most guys also put on some bi-directional strapping tape as well. This stuff is heavy. One 64" strip weighs about .5 ounce. Cover the wing with bi-di and then cover with packing tape and it will be heavier than ripstop. Put on a few strips and it will be lighter than ripstop. Tape is a whole lot easier than ripstop and repairs easy also. Also isn't as affected by wet weather.
NAES
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Post by NAES »

Who flies in wet weather?

I guess not us sissy Califas boys!!!

NAES
Oehrle
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Post by Oehrle »

I use packing tape and bidi tape on my ssc, and open b.
It is quick but not as pretty as some rip stop I have
seen done. Like Mike said, I use bidi for hinges, over
the spar and at time on the leading edge. After that
some 3M spray and packing tape.

Gary Oehrle
Alex Treneff
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Post by Alex Treneff »

Thanman,

We usually cover our wings completely in Bi-directional tape, including the whole aileron. Then we cover the wing with Econokote.

The result is a very strong, nice-looking wing.

You can get the Bi-Driectional tape from http://www.TreneffRC.com
Hat Trick
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Post by Hat Trick »

Bi-directional tape adds weight fast so be carefull with it. One 64" strip weighs 1/2 oz.

You can get bi-directional tape and reasonably priced CNC cut wings and kits from http://www.Hattrickrc.com
Thaman
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Post by Thaman »

thanks a bunch for the input
Mike
i cant get your e-mail to work for me i need to get you some money
THend
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Post by THend »

[:D]And I was going to get into the Bi-Di Tape market too![:p] But I wasn't going to be reasonably priced...LOL[8D]
Hat Trick
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Post by Hat Trick »

Everything is more expensive in CA!
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o1moregil
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Post by o1moregil »

Im using 3m 77 and packing tape from fastpack, for some reason the tape is lifting (air bubbles), and its kinda getting in my nerves, avery time I have to iron it back, is anybody having the same problem?
Alex Treneff
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Post by Alex Treneff »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by o1moregil</i>
<br />Im using 3m 77 and packing tape from fastpack, for some reason the tape is lifting (air bubbles), and its kinda getting in my nerves, avery time I have to iron it back, is anybody having the same problem?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Gil,

I tried packing tape over bi-di. I quit because in any kind of an impact the packing tape would pull loose and take the bi-di with it. The bi-di backing would pull away from the fiberglass strands.

I've since gone back to covering in towerkote. It's easy, clean, looks nice, easy to repair, and pretty strong.

You can get Bi-Directional tape in both 2" and time-saving 4" widths from www.TreneffRC.com

http://www.treneffrc.com/products.asp?cat=15
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boiler
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Post by boiler »

Take a thin pin and poke the air bubble as you shrink the tape with a heat gun. Then rub with a terry cloth while the tape is still hot to put the adhesives together again.
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o1moregil
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Post by o1moregil »

thanks Alex , I bought a bunch of packing tape, and switching to other type of covering will be a waste of money right now, but thanks dude!
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o1moregil
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Post by o1moregil »

Boiler
dunn that and didn't work for me (2 or 3 days later, same thing:( ) , I think I should of used more spay at the beginning to start with I guess , oh well lesson learned. thanks
EK
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Post by EK »

I've been there too Gil. Looks good after covering only to pop up and loosen a couple days later. Try the iron instead of the gun. It's not as neat but helped in my case. Or you can just take your glasses off. Then the plane looks fine but you're left wondering why all the folks are walking by your great looking fleet of planes pointing and snickering. I don't claim to build award winning planes but they seem to loop-d-loop pretty good.
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