Lessons Learned

Guys,

I thought that I would start this post on lessons learned. I just learned one recently and i'll give it shortly, but I think this would be a good opportunity to put some knowldge where anyone can get to it. Len might even want to start another category?

My recent lesson learned involves the use of sealing tape when sealing hinges on your airplane. For the last many months - including at the 02 Nats I was seemingly getting less response to my down elevator inputs. This week I was doing some work on the bottom of my stab/elevator and noticed that some of the tape had come unstuck and had worked it's way down into the gap between the elevator and stabalizer and indeed was limiting the travel of my down elevator input. The moral of the story....since sealing tape is applied to the bottom of the hingeline - don't just assume that it's always in good condition - check it out often and make sure it is stuck down properly and not causing control binding in any way!

I'll second that remark, and add to it a little problem that occurred on one of my Novis. Like Jim, I had sealed the hinge lines from the bottom side. My plane started dropping the outboard wing in hard turns (the squares) when doing both insides and outsides. It started in gradually and got progressively worse over probably 30 to 40 flights. A quick check of the sealing tape showed it to still be stuck down all along, so I started looking elswhere for the problem. Much looking and measuring revealed NOTHING. Well, finally,after a days flying , I was sitting in a lawn chair wiping the plane down when I got a glimpse of light between the flap and TE of the wing on the outboard wing. Closer inspection revealed that the sealing tape had split right along the crease in the hinge line for about 8 inches.
The progression of the split was what was causing it to gradually worsen. It was difficult to see even after I found it. Now I carefully check the sealing tape after each days flying for splitting as well as adhering. (nother lesson learned).

Bigiron