Revamping my Mizer

[Henni]

Hi everyone,

After experiencing unknown & unwanted fabric damage to my one wing over where I've recently hangared, I've decided to revamp my Mizer & hence these questions. Would you care to comment please?

1. What do I use to patch dacron with & what glue do I use? (I'm talking about two smallish rips in the underside wing fabric)

2. Can I spray over dacron & if so, do I use the same procedure as Boet uses for the Bushbabies?

3. Where do I find the fibreglass streamlined strips as used over all tubes on the newer trikes?

4. As a last & much more expensive resort, who would be able to fabricate new dacron covers for a Mizer microlight? Any contact detail please?

Thanks for your response.

Henni

[Morph]

Henni, been there, done that. I have had 2 seperate instances on my Old Challenger where the wings were damaged by others.

I would speak to the Cheetah guys at Springs. They have a dacron factory there and if you could take all the sails off they could use them as a template to make new ones.

As far as fixing is concerned I have no clue.

Some of the Challenger wings come out with Dacron fabric that has been laminated with clear plastic. Adds significantly to the weight I should imagine. I believe there is a method of spraying the fabric with a UV protector which is a clear laquer and I would think you would have to add a softflex additive to prevent this from cracking when flexed. Again the Cheetah guys should be able to help you.

What diameter of tubing are you looking at for the streamlined stripes? I have some that I am not going to use on my BB that you can have if you pay for the courier. It's supposed to be used on the spars and the tube diameter is about 25 to 30mm. There is about 10m of the stuff in 1m lengths. I am rather using Styrofoam cut to shape and then fibreglassing over it. I should start this job this weekend and I will keep you posted.

[Henni]

Hi Morph,

Thank you for your response & generous offer - I'll measure diameter & get back to you. Would be awesome if I can streamline her a bit.

Parked her next to a Thunderbird the other day & was a bit embarrassed by the comparison, hence one of the reasons for wanting to revamp a bit.

Regards,
Henni

[Tailspin]

Hi Morph

I would love some of that streamlined stuff if nobody takes it off your hands.

[Henni]

Guys!

No one patched dacron before?! I need to fix by this weekend - please, what glue do I use?

On the Bushbabies, I saw one project that a special glue is used to glue the wooden wing ribs to the metal wing tubes(spars), heck it's even used to assist with attaching the braket where the wing strut attach to the wing tubes. Now that's amazing!

So, what glue do I use for dacron on dacron?

Henni

[Morph]

The glue you are referring to on the BB is a specialised black epoxy with a very short curing time. very messy to work with.

Depending on the size of the tear but if it is small I have seen guys using a sticky fabric patch of a similar colour as the dacron. It's almost like vinyl (which you can use on ceconite/stits/polyfibre planes) but is a material instead of plastic vinyl with a sticky side

You can also talk to Jenja at Petit. He builds and repairs wings. 082eight five 38239

[Tailspin]

Henni

Sorry for the Hijack - Contact a company called Tex Magic, they are the yatching guys and they should be able to give you advice or even a glue to use. They are in RAndburg.

[Henni]

Thanks guys,

Morph, just spoke to Jenya - he sells self adhesive strips which is what I might go for. I've sent him a pic & he will also give me a rough quote for new sails.

Tailspin, thank you for the advice - I will contact them also.

My sails are not that worn & it would be nice if I can simply spray with something to make it look better.

Regards,
Henni