INSULATION TAPE

[thevon]

I reckon insulation tape's really useful. Put a strip all along your leading edge and it really helps protect it from getting torn. If your plane's already beaten up it makes a nice clean looking LE. Some purists may feel that the edge of the tape creates a small step which may affect the airflow, but in my opinion it makes no difference. After putting it on, my planes fly just as badly as before. You can even stretch it around the tips too.

Not just for foamies either- some of the US guys recommend it for moldies to help prevent delamination, as well as protecting the LE on landings.

Other good uses are: sticking down hatches, taping on nose cones and servo covers on moldies, and my favourite is that you can stretch strips all around the nose of a fuse like the Reaper, Zeppelin-style, and it makes it nice and smooth.

BUT!!! The purpose of this post is to say that not all insulation tapes are the same! I was going fine till I got a different brand and it didn't stick! I tried more brands and they were useless too!

The GOOD ones are Lanson, 3M and Temflex.

The BAD ones I've tried were Trademate and Nitto, and some other cheapy too.

Lanson's the best, I reckon, but I'm having trouble finding it. 3M is a bit more expensive at $2.20 per roll at Mitre 10.

Just thought it might save someone some grief if they try using it.

[jake]

i LOVE insulation tape!
use it on the nose and LE of my weasel and it just takes a beating! i've just put it around my s15 as well. it really keeps everything nice and tidy. does look a bit off because the colours don't quite match but the added durability is worth it. so easy to replace too! doesn't pull the covering up underneath it.

jake

[ding]

I'm told it's good on hampsters too.....

apparently they use it for protecting themselves from electrical shock ??

[felix]

hey great idea andrew....was tossing up ideas for a replacable leading edge,it contributes to something like 85% or more of low reynolds number aerofoil effeciency,that revolved around thin plastic moulded wrap arounds but electrical tape would be easier and cheaper!
it's a pity that nitto is no good,got at least 2 dozen rolls in the workshop lol.question is is there a similar tape in 2" width rolls?that would be ideal.
as for the the ridge it forms i doubt that could ever make a difference with such a small chord widths and the unavoidable surface irregularities even in a big fast mouldie let alone foam -probably more likely to act as a turbulator if anything.worst case you could always run a hottish iron over it and taper the tape edges lol.
will give it a go on the bee when i finish covering it i reckon.

[lucky]

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[thevon]

Felix, for 2" wide, I haven't seen anything exactly the same as insulation tape.

But I use that silver tape a fair bit too, which is around 2" and it is available everywhere. Not for leading edges, but it's excellent stuff as it's really sticky and it stretches a lot. Great for taping lumps of lead on, or for fairing other bumps - you can stretch it around so there are no wrinkles.

[sean]

I recently bought some of the silver tape Andrew is referring to. At Bunnings it's sold as "PVC Duct Tape". Bunnings Maroochydore have it in black and silver. It's a lot like insulation tape to use, perhaps a bit thinner, great stuff!

I posted a messgae on RCG asking whether sign vinyl would trip the boundary layer on my Bird's wing. The consensus was no, it's too thin. I can say from first-hand experience theat the vinyl didn't slow it down . Insulation tape would be the same I think, I couldn't see it being a problem on a foamy. I use it on the LE of my foamies to stop the covering from lifting, after a few prangs the Profilm on my foamies always wants to lift off the LE .

[thevon]

The silver tape seems to be more "rubbery-stretchy" (sorry for the technical jargon) than the insulation tape. A bit thinner too. If we ever put together a University course on model sailplanes, we'll have to have a whole semester subject on "Adhesive Tapes"!

When I went to Promark packaging and asked the guy for double sided tape, I found that there are LOTS of types! He showed me a roll that costs over $100, used by signwriters to stick things to windows on highrise buildings, I think.

[ding]

The silver duct tape is good. However I've would think it's heavy, and the adhesive doesn't really set... which may or may not be a problem.