Sealing canopy ?

[tizdaz]

Hi guys 🙂

 

I bought a used seagull decathlon 30 which needed some TLC, its pretty much ready to go now apart from a few bits, the first is the font window section, I've attached a pic that shows the plastic window peeling away from the fuse, what's best method to re-seal this, do i use a certain kind of tape or can i just use normal silicone etc?

 

Second is the tail section has some damage where the stabilizer is, what's best way to repair this, again should i fill with some normal filler then cover with some tape or is there a better method? I don't have an iron nor have i any experience with covering so the simpler the better! 🙂

Cheers!

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

Zap canopy glue  it's a water basted glue that when dry is translucide, for the tail a clean cut and a piece of balsa spliced in.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

It's not easy to assess from the photo but it looks like a built up tail.  The damage may well affect the structural integrity of the tailplane and may need a more involved repair than simply filling the gap with filler or wood cut in without a proper scarf joint.

[Caveman]

Hi Tizdaz, I've got one of these planes I bought second-hand. The canopy was exactly the same as yours. I refurbished it by removing the old cracked tape and cleaning the covering and windscreen with meths to remove any old oil etc.

I than re-stuck the screen using B&Q (Diall) RED PVC insulating tape. The tape is really cheap and 19mm wide. I split it down the middle to reduce the width to 9.5mm. I tried to apply it without stretching it so that it didn't shrink back later.

Here's the result:

 

 

 

 

With regard to the damaged tail, Martin is correct, it's a built-up tail. However the leading edge is quite substantial. If it were mine I'd carefully cut it back to the minimum to create square, straight edges and glue in  a replacement piece (looks like it would be around 6x20mm), then sand to shape. The problem then is re-covering the repair. The original covering is, I think, Oracover colour Ferrari Red, a roll of which would be expensive to cover a very small patch. Perhaps a bit more of the &Q tape would do the job in the short term?

 

Cheers GDB

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Just be aware that if you make a repair like this, you aren't adding any significant strength. The red dotted line is going to take most of the bending loads as the tailplane exerts more force with increasing speed.

 

A straight glue join, especially located on the fuselage edge which gives a fulcrum point, is very likely to fail.  In addition, the sharp corner will further weaken the remaining member.

 

I'm rather conscious of the potential danger having read a report into a fatality in the USA recently where a similar repair had failed. The correct repair would involve a scarf joint but I'm struggling to suggest a way of achieving this without some more involved work.