Which tape?

[fuzzywolf]

At the moment I just use sellotape/packing tape to protect my cub, does anyone know if there is anything better? Or am I best just to stick with the stuff I've got.

[renard80]

Latest advice is to stay with the packing tape. Many people have advocated the use of cloth tape on the cowl but apparently that makes the aircraft too heavy.

[flydiver]

Since I'm the guy 'ranting' about heavy tape I'll ....weigh in.

Packing tape in general is plenty strong. It's stiff (plastic basically) and when placed over foam adds a lot of protection and rigidity. If you REALLY REALLY feel like you need EVEN more protection you can use the packing tape with reinforcement threads-the crisscross kind is strongest (3M).
BUT- most reinforced packing tape has poor UV (ultra-violet) protection and will yellow, become brittle, and lose it's grip after much time in the sun. It eve does this in Seattle and we aren't known for our prodigious sun. I think UK would be very similar. Anywhere sunnier would be worse.
Plain old packing tape is better that way.

It's not necessary to 'mummify' the Cub. The cowl, the leading edge of the wing, and strips at the narrow part of the tail are generally all you need. That's a few grams.

This will NOT save your Cub from auguring in from 100 feet up. Nothing, absolutely nothing will.
They really don't make any material or plane that will that kind of abuse outside of a viciously reinforced delta that is grossly overpowered.
www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=684818
If you gotta ask, you aren't good enough to fly it but you can learn some stuff if you are willing to go through the threads.

The Z-foam of the Cub or the Elapor of Multiplex is about as good as it gets, stiff but tough. EPP is sorta tougher but at the expense of being more flexible so needs stiffening and even more reinforcement. AND, it still breaks in spite of all the claims that EPP only bounces. That's a lot of BS. It's WAY better than depron or styrofoam but it DOES tear if you whack it hard enough. It is easy to fix, but so is Z-foam. It's trade-offs. It always is.

I've said plenty, duct tape, and cloth tape won't do a better job and they are heavier. Heavier makes the plane crash harder. It's a vicious circle trying to keep up with the reinforcement > crash > repairs + more reinforcement > more crashes cycle.

If you want to learn a new skill you can look for using 'New Stuff', essentially commercial laminating film. The stuff is like packing tape you can get in different thicknesses and apply with heat like the shrink films used to cover balsa (and foam) planes. In thicker applications it can provide a lot of stiffening and protection without much extra weight. It does not shrink and will not go around corners at all. It only comes in clear.
www.canuckengineering.com/new/catalog/film-covering
Look for info in the Slope section of one of the larger groups like RCGroups or Wattflyer. You are on your own here. I'm just starting to experiment with it on foam scraps. It looks promising.

For folks just learning to fly and assimilate all the new skills associated with it (repair) most of those suggestions are a stretch.
So, just use packing tape. Figure out where you really need it, and put it there.
If you broke your plane in 3 pieces because of an incredibly nasty crash, it wouldn't have saved you anyway. You just have to live with that. Rubber planes won't fly and planes that do fly won't bounce.

[fuzzywolf]

Thanks for the info
I haven't had any serious crashes, just minor ones due to basic errors, but hey I'm still learning, it can only go up from here! ;D

[flydiver]

I think for the first 2 months of my learning career I don't think I ever went home without some damage. And I had help for the first several weeks. After 6 months I could mostly fly but getting new and different planes (ailerons, jets with elevons, 3D which will seriously up your crash ratio) the carnage continued. I used to buy props by the half dozen. Now I rarely buy them.

It was somewhere around 8-9 months for me I realized I hadn't had any damage in weeks.
But there never any way of getting totally away from it.

If you fly, you will crash.....sometime. Often the rare ones after you know how to fly are worse because you are flying higher and faster. When something goes wrong it goes seriously wrong.

Addendum: link deleted. Original thread seems to be gone. No matter, crashing is part of flying.

[sugargrovecub]

That thread doesn't exist.

[kenninny]

even when you go over the plane from head to toe befor you fly murphys law can kick in I know I check one of my planes befor take off, flying at a normal pace, then it happened. I heard a snap or pop, and down she came!

[geoff2474]

Hi All British fliers
This week in Aldi they have 'All Weather Tape' best way to describe it is heavy duty selotape.
Sticks like mad, tough, transparent, 50mm wide, anti UV and under £3.
What more could you ask for?
Geoff

[renard80]

Mar 20, 2012 22:58:48 GMT 1 geoff2474 said:

Hi All British fliers
This week in Aldi they have 'All Weather Tape' best way to describe it is heavy duty selotape.
Sticks like mad, tough, transparent, 50mm wide, anti UV and under £3.
What more could you ask for?
Geoff

Thanks for the tip, Geoff.

[fuzzywolf]

Mar 20, 2012 22:58:48 GMT 1 geoff2474 said:

Hi All British fliers
This week in Aldi they have 'All Weather Tape' best way to describe it is heavy duty selotape.
Sticks like mad, tough, transparent, 50mm wide, anti UV and under £3.
What more could you ask for?
Geoff

Cheers Geoff, will definitely be checking that one out!

-Fuzzy