Felt leading edge wing wrap.

[FredHoffman]

About to cover my wings. I thought I would like to try covering the leading edge spar tube to the back of the leading edge wrap with felt as shown in the Stewarts covering video. I have not used body filler on the wings yet and I thought the felt would smooth things out pretty well and might be lighter and less work. Anybody done this on a Highlander yet? Any thoughts?

Fred Hoffman

[danerazz]

No direct experience, but my understanding is it will smooth it out, but ends up weighing A LOT due to the fact that you basically soak the felt in glue per Stewart's instructions. Also, you still need a relatively smooth surface underneath as shrinking the fabric really compresses the felt and any significant joints/bumps still show through. There is a short thread on the short-wing piper forum about this. Some are concerned that the "give" it gives the fabric can cause cuts in the fabric when hit by debris (gravel, bugs, trees) and some have mentioned concerns about it potentially absorbing water and holding it there, causing weight increases/corrosion. It can help smooth out a leading edge, but at least on mine the aluminum wrap is pretty smooth. Planning on just tape over the rivets and leading edge of the wrap where it meets the spar. I am adding more than enough weight to the rest of the plane, so any spots I can reduce it I need to (pinching pennies, spending dollars, or something like that). I am not planning on any felt.

[fiferphil]

I did felt my leading edges per the Stuart Instructions, and after 22 hours of flying have not noticed any adverse effects - nor have I noticed any advantages. Let me also point out that my leading edges are of plywood and not aluminum. Having completed my construction at the factory, I had plenty of opportunity to compare my felted plywood leading edges to the factory's unfelted aluminum leading edges, and frankly, I liked the factory's better. As for the long term effects of felting - that remains to be seen. My conclusions are at this time; Save time, save weight and save money. Don't felt.