I was reading in a few places that covering and clear packing tape can be used to seal the hinge gaps of the control surfaces.
Problem was there weren't any instructions. How would I go about doing that and keeping the control surfaces from binding?

Better to use something thinner and more flexible like MonoKote. If you deflect the aileron full up and slide a folded piece of tape (in a "V" shape) into the slot then smooth it down you should get a good seal. If you opt for rudder and elevators, too (I never have bothered) just remember to deflect the surface AWAY from the side you are taping as far as it goes and to pre-crease the tape.

Thanks Charlie that is what I thought, I am going to try the light packing tape as I can't cover to save my life. I guess I should remove my linkage from the control horn on the hinge I am taping to get max deflection?

overbored77,
It's not really too hard to do with covering.

1. Use tape to fully deflect the surface you want to seal the gap for.
2. Cut a strip of covering long enough to cover the entire hinge line (if possible). Fold the strip in half and set in the gap.
3. Use a trim iron (or the tip of a covering iron) to iron down one side of the strip against the "V" of the gap. Make sure the fold of the strip sits all the way down in the gap
4. Now do the other side of the gap with the trim iron.
5. Now use the covering iron to seal down the rest of the strip onto the control surfaces.
6. Trim the ends of the strip.
7. Now flex the surface and then inspect the gap. If there are any parts of the strip that came up use your trim iron to seal it back down.

Do both sides of the gap this way. Doing this will reinforce the CA hinges to help prevent failure.

Hope this helps

Ken

If you do not have the monocote and the covering iron; I have neither so
1) I took a measured length of HD 3M packing tape, and put it onto a section on non-stick paper like what the decals come on;
2) figured I wanted 1/2" inch adhesivese sticking to the forward top side of of hinges; measured the width of the hinge depression (45 degree slopes) and added an additional 1/8";
3) cut tape to width;
4) expose the portion you want to make non-sticky. Sprinkle with talc, rub in, shake off excess;
5) carefully align and apply;
6) press down gently and work any air bubbles to sides.

Unconventional maybe, but it may be a long time before I would have access to the tools and monocote so.......... it should work to stop any flutter.

When is it a good ideal to seal hinge gaps?

All the time. Every plane I have has sealed hinge gaps. Any gap in the hinge line means that air can leak through and lessen the performance of the plane.

Ken

Do you have to seal both sides of the hinge? Top and bottom?

No, you don't have to seal both sides if you don't want to. All you have to do it seal it so it closes the gap to airflow, and one side will do that. I personally prefer to seal both sides. Also, if you use tape to seal the gap you might want to consider sealing both sides because if you seal only one side you will have the sticky side of the tape exposed in the gap which will let it collect dirt and debris.

Hope this helps

Ken

Ken, I am going to pick up some clear monokote in a few days and seal the gaps on my tigerII. hopefully I will see a gain in performance.

Come back here and let us know if you see a difference. I'll lay dollars to donuts that you're going to be shocked in how much of a difference it will make.

Ken

2 quick questions ken. I learned about this at the field and they said that it wouldn't make a difference on my trainer is this true? secondly what if the plane is allready covered? I have 3 planes that ive aquired in the past year that are all ready to maiden and im nervous so i want every piece of luck i have. the 1 plane is a chipmunk 60 covered with a cloth like material, a p-47 in ultra cote or monocote ,and a F6F hellcat in a covering in the middle of the road. sorry i don't know the exact names but these planes are all very important to me and don't want to ruin it from bubbles in the covering or make my scale planes look ugly.

Please give me a hand. thanks, dave trimmer

p.s. i still dont understand the folding part of the covering before putting it on.

I might have agreed with them until I recovered my own trainer. Sealing the gaps took the plane from "flopping" over in a roll to doing a crisp clean roll that was easy to perform. Trust me here, just try it and you won't listen to those guys at the field any longer.

By folding the covering in half you make a sharp "point" of the covering that lets it sit directly at the bottom of the gap.

Ken

I have used this before, They are adhesive trim sheets by monocote http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHX82&P=0 Just cut, peel, fold, stick, Fuel and water proof. Many colors.

Thanks for the illustration. For now I will add a tape on the bottom of hinge line,