I have heard people talking about "Filling Hinge Gaps" to help prevent flutter(among other things?) I was unaware of this technique, and was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the subject. I heard that you put iron-on covering along the hinge gap to prevent airflow through it. But, if you put covering on it, wouldn't that restrict surface movement??

Thanks,
Philip

You don't cover both sides. What airplane is it on? I wouldn't waste the time doing it on most. On my gliders, I do monokote hinges on the flaps and ailerons to close the gaps. I have seen people use clear plastic, and glue it to the trailing edge and lap it just over the control surface to cover the gap. Keep close tollerances on your surface and you don't need a gap seal. Just my 2 cents

seal the gap isn't for flutter,it's to stop the uneven air flow of the controls making the plane more precise in the controls,read a study once as if there is even 1/32 " of gap then sealing helps,I seal all the controls.FLEX the control futher than you'll need then seal with tape or iron on covering,one side only,usually the bottom,on the rudder,pick a side.You can seal both sides but I've never needed to,If the gap isn't to large I use clear silicon

Apply the covering like this...

I covered the gap on my LT 40 and it was not as hard as I was thinking it would be. I used mono went about a 1/2" past the hinge line. Set my iron on low and took my time. Makes for and sharp kit.

firefighter56,

did you cover it like in the pic my MinnFlyer? I have heard people apply a strip of covering along the gap, but only tack down the front part because the wind will keep the back down, and this eliminates any binding caused by the covering. Is this how most people do it? Or, do they(like the pic) do down into the hinge slot.

Thanks,
Philip

flex the control more than you will ever use then iron the covering while at the max.control front and back edge

I read somewhere that someone used clear packing tape to seal the hinges. Has anyone else heard of this technique?

yep.

TerrellFlyer,

So, when I flex the control surface, do I iron the covering flat across the hinge surface, or do I go down into the hinge gap as in MinnFlyer's pic. Just thinking about it, if I do it flat, the covering will "pucker" out when the surface is neutral or in the direction of the side with the gap covered, is that O.K.(or does that not happen)?

P.S. I'm pretty sure you do, but just to make sure...
Do you 'fill the gap' along the entire surface, or just around the hinges?

Thanks guys!

Evening ptarp,go down in the gap as MinnFlyer is showing in the drawing,also try to cover the entire gap.

I applied the strip of mono along the bottom of the wing. I then took my iron with the wing bottom side up and tacked the strip on the wing side first. The iron is set to low to medium temp.

I flexed the control surface all the way. Completely iron down this side first. Then take the edge of the iron and go down the middle all the way up and down the gap. I then iron the aileron side to finish it off. Sounds harder than it is. Just keep the heat down until you have it where you want it.

This is my first kit and mine turned out well. Some people told me to use packing tape, but I did this way instead.

Thanks for all of the info guys, this was very helpful.

Philip

I do it a little different. First flex the control serface all the way up then turn the wing over and iron down a strip of covering right over the gap, straight accross After it is ironed down to both wing and ail' flex the control back to neurtral while running the iron down the gap. this puts the puccer down into yhe hinge line and it is just about friction free. looks neat too. I use clear Monokote to cover the gaps. It just about dissappears. Cover the entire gap to seal against air leaking thru to disrupt the airflow.