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Old 09-03-2004, 09:00 PM
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seanpcola
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Default Silicone hinges

This may be the wrong forum to post this on but felt the subject would probably only relate to sailplane flyers and builders. I am currently building a 4 meter full house sailplane and decided to use the silicone hinging technique where you temporarily hinge the control surface with tape, lay a bead of silicone along the hinge line, let cure, then remove the tape, leaving a flexible, full span hinge. So far, I am extremely pleased with the results. Looks clean, works well, and the surfaces naturally tend to re-center to neutral. What I am curious to know is if anyone on here has any long term experience using this? How long they last over time, anything to be cautious of? I made several test wing/aileron examples first for practice and to see what it would take to make them let go with satisfactory results.

Thanks to all in advance for your input!