SmokinJoe

The film coverings on most of the Vipers in Perth have come loose at some time. I've seen it happen on fuselages, wings and tails.

I'd appreciate comments on what others do to fix or prevent their Viper covering problems, other than stripping it all off to start with and either replacing it or glassing it.

skull1971

re-iron it, the heat of the iron resets the glue in the covering, be careful of the heat setting, don't shrink it unless needed.
Just a guess, and what we've done.

rmenke

My Feedback: (13)

Joe:

Iron seams, tighten up and add a brush wide clear nail polish on all the seams. Usually worth the time. If you have some pulled into wood seams, recover time unless you go over with a 1/2" strip of clear Ultra coat or sim. Same for blow holes if your one of those. ENJOY

jaka

Hi!
Replace it with Oracover (Ultracote)!

aussiesteve

Hi Joe
I finally found out how to fix it for Andrews planes
I ordered him a new plane from Big Bruce

Will you still be around in Perth for 23/Feb? I think the guys are trying to organise a day then - I will be home that weekend too so it might be a bit of fun.

SmokinJoe

Steve,

I've made the move to Brisbane - right in the middle of the biggest wet season for 20 years. Not even the ducks are flying today with the monsoonal trough working its way down Queensland from the Gulf.

If you ordered a Slingshot from Bruce, you won't go wrong. I (and everyone else) was very impressed with it at the Nats. Mind you, Mark Giggins posted best time for the day with a Viper.

I paid a premium for mine to have Kevlar laid in the fuselage so that they would withstand my landing technique. It was well worth it as I've made a few landings already that would have broken the tail off a "normal" Slingshot. With the kevlar, they just kept bouncing.

It was the covering coming off your young bloke's Viper tail at the Nats that prompted me to post the question, and everyone elses at one time or another.

aussiesteve

No worries Mate
I would have loved to have seen his face when it happened

Thanks for the tip on the Slingshot - I'll ask Bruce if it's too late to get the Kevlar included.

Rudeboy

Go over it with a nice hot iron, and immediately follow the iron with a cotton cloth to keep the covering down while the glue sets. For some reason you can't get it to stick properly if you don't keep it pushed down until cold (lots of gasses coming out that push the covering away before the glue sets).
Strangely enough, when you do it like this, you have a hell of a time getting the covering back off when needed... it sticks like nothing I've seen before...