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From: Tuck McAtee To: SX300 members Date: 08/30/2006
Several members asked me about the 3M rain erosion tape I have on the
leading edge of my wings. The tape was developed to protect blades for
military helicopters. It comes in two colors, black and clear. I
have the black tape but also recommend the clear tape since it will not
yellow with age.
I've flown my aircraft through rain, rhyme ice and have had numerous bug
strikes. The tape is as good as new. For anyone that wants to
protect their leading edge from erosion, I highly recommend it. Here
are the details:
3M Polyurethane Protective Tapes are available in various widths/lengths -
Clear - thin - # 8674 Clear - thick - #8673 Black - glossy - thin - #8672 Black - you must specify BLACK with this order or you will get a NON UV Stable clear that will shift in color.
There are two distributors who can ship this tape:
Aviall - 713-644-4720
RS Hughes - 210-661-5498
If anyone has any questions about the tape, they can call:
Todd S. Holder
Senior Account Representative 3M Aerospace & Aircraft Maintenance Division Houston, Texas Ph. 281.389.8479 Tuck McAtee VP, Sales & Marketing Asier Technology Corporation 6817 Meadows West Drive Fort Worth, Texas 76132 Office 817-423-1223 Mobile 817-706-5914 tmcatee@asiertech.com
From: Tuck McAtee To: SX300 Group Members For the SX-300 group There is a potential safety problem with the canopy latching mechanism for canopies that open forward. If the latch is not properly adjusted, it is possible for the canopy to become unlocked in flight with a slight bump to the latch. If this happens, the canopy safety hooks that Doug installed will catch the canopy so there is no immediate safety problem. The safety problem can occur if you try to relatch the canopy in flight. There is a great deal of lift on the canopy and the latch can spring back to the unlatched position very quickly. The inertia is such that the latch can disengage the hooks as the canopy springs open. When this happens, the canopy is free to drift upwards until it finds a neutral lift position. As the canopy approaches this position, it blanks the tail resulting in a violent downward pitching moment. This happened to me during a recent flight and I found it very difficult to recover the airplane. As the canopy opened I caught the straps attached to the back of the canopy and manually pulled it down. Fortunately I caught it before the canopy had reached the full open position. Even with the canopy down as far as my strength could manage, there was a very large pitch down moment . I had sufficient elevator power to control the airplane but I was stuck with one hand on the stick and one hand holding the canopy. The force required to hold the canopy down enough to fly the airplane is quite high and, if I had not had my wife to help, I may not have been able to hold it long enough to land. While I never let the canopy get to the fully opened position, I suspect I would have lost control of the airplane. Whether on not the airplane is flyable with the canopy "floating" is unanswered. Until it is, I would assume that the answer is ugly. SX-300 pilots with this canopy configuration should consider the following steps.
Tuck McAtee Home 817-346-2678 Work 817-423-1223
Please send comments, items of interest or anything you think would be noteworthy for our group.
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From SX300
Members and Friends