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Touring Motor Gliders Association (TMGA)

Taping the wing extension joints


edwalker

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I've gotten into the habit of not bothering to tape the wing extension joint after assembly, and I was wondering the other day how much of a difference it really makes. Has anyone done a careful, quantitative taped/untaped direct comparison? Any subjective impressions?

I also finally got around to adding the Mylar elevator seals this weekend and recalled that there were some musings at one point about adding turbulator tape. Any updates from anyone?

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tape on wing joints at the root and on the wing extensions is critical to contest performance where every iota of performance counts.  When I will be on a soaring flight I always tape the wing extension joint.  The tail and the wing roots are always taped.  I have never seen anything in print about a qualitative test, and I doubt if any performance change can be measured.

About half of the time I will tape for a powered flight, as it is not as critical to performance with the engine running.  Got drag?  Add power!

We did  some turbulator testing on the undersurface of the wing using flight in rain and a GoPro mounted under the wing, but the water did not produce reliable results.  Oil must be used, and it tends to sneak into flaperons and under mylar and tape, and we didn't want to get our Phoenix dirty.  One friend had his glider oil tested by the late Dick Johnson, and he felt that the residual oil on his plane was a badge of honor.

Zigzag turbulator tape can certainly increase performance (again, probably not measureable) but it has to be in the right places or it will increase drag.

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I don't tape the joints on the long tips when I'm flying from my hangar because I'll have to take it off to put the plane away. The improvement in performance isn't discernible to me,  it doesn't seem to reduce the cold air that leaks out of the spoiler handle slot, or reduce the noise in the cockpit, so the incentive isn't there. When I'm using tiedowns at a soaring camp or on a trip, I'll tape the joints; if nothing else, it keeps the rain out of the wing.

My Schleicher ASH 26 E sailplane has turbulators on the bottom of the wing, on the vertical stabilizer ahead of the rudder, and both sides of the horizontal stabilizer ahead of the elevator. The Phoenix might benefit from the same thing, but (as Jim points out) it takes some special effort to determine the best location. I keep hoping the factory will do some tests, then tell us where to place them.

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