Wing Tape Sucks
As I’m posting this I have just come back from the third sortie with the Magpie. She is flying great on the slow flyer wing. Landings are easy and she will fly hands off at a little under half throttle. The rest of this post I wrote about a week ago as I was finishing up the construction phase:
It took 3+ hours of my life to cover the Slow Fly wing. I’m going to do the sport wing in Solite (Nelson Litefilm) because I do not want to work with this stuff again. Its an exercise in frustration.
The tape sticks to itself, it sticks to you and everything else. It rips very easily once you start to cut into it. It sticks to the scissors and the knife to stop you from making a clean cut. It refuses to go around corners and will peel away from sharp bends. Its virtually impossible to cover a convex shape unless you use a million little strips.
I guess its only saving grace is that its cheap, $3 per roll. Just one roll would cover the entire airplane but I got 4 to have some different colours to work with. You also need 3M77 adhesive spray, that will lighten your wallet by another $16. Admittedly though Solite would be more expensive. You need tools, an iron and a heat gun. Each roll will set you back about $11. I have read that Solite is very sticky too, who knows, it may be just as bad.
So with the wing finished its on the final assembly. Pushrods, soldering connectors, installing radio gear and making up the landing gear, set the CG, charge, test… go fly!