Adhering Fairings With RTV - 2 Year Update

[Jay Honeck]

About two years ago I posted about my intentions of attaching a fiberglass landing gear/fuselage fairing with RTV instead of screws. This fairing rarely needs to be removed, and drilling new screw holes is never fun or good.

Well, you'd think I was proposing mounting a GoPro on a Skyhawk, or something equally radical. Reactions ranged from "Meh" to "You're gonna die!". lol

Yesterday, during my condition inspection, I decided to see how they were doing. Ho-lee-chit, getting those suckers off was a SOB. I had to cut the RTV out, bit by bit, with a long razor blade. They were much more firmly attached than if I had used four screws.

So, for those who are looking for a cleaner fairing installation, RTV works great. Just don't use it on anything you need to regularly remove.

 

[Shepherd]

Jay,
What brand did you use?
I've had mixed results based on various brands.

Thanks

 

[Jay Honeck]

Jay,
What brand did you use?
I've had mixed results based on various brands.

Thanks

Sorry, I don't recall. It was clear, and the pure silicone stuff.

I then went back and "color matched" the edges with red RTV, the high temp stuff. That stuff didn't stick quite as well as the clear stuff, but it was still plenty stuck.

 

[Shepherd]

Jay,
Thanks.
Keep us posted as you see the need.
I gouged and scrapped all the brand "X" off and replaced it with top of the line automotive GE product.

 

[Spotter626]

Are you sure it was RTV silicone. Axcell (sp) is a urethane used for wood basements and window installs and is tough as hell to remove and sticks like glue to clean surfaces. But it is even more expensive then RTV and more difficult to locate as the cheap box stores don't carry it. You have to go to a real lumber yard or a window and glass supplier. But it will work wonders and is water proof too. I have a lot of experience with it and it is my go too solution for some projects. It comes in clear and other colors, also used in aquarium construction.

 

[Jay Honeck]

Are you sure it was RTV silicone. Axcell (sp) is a urethane used for wood basements and window installs and is tough as hell to remove and sticks like glue to clean surfaces. But it is even more expensive then RTV and more difficult to locate as the cheap box stores don't carry it. You have to go to a real lumber yard or a window and glass supplier. But it will work wonders and is water proof too. I have a lot of experience with it and it is my go too solution for some projects. It comes in clear and other colors, also used in aquarium construction.

Yup, it was regular ol' Dow (?) silicone RTV. Straight from Autozone.

Still hanging on strong.

 

[Shepherd]

Rock on, Jay. Rock on!

 

[donjohnston]

I used clear silicon RTV to attach vortilons, trim tab, main wing bolt hole covers and landing light lenses on my Velocity. During the first annual (I know, and I don't care), I had to remove the bolt hole covers... those things did not want to come off.

Granted, these parts don't have anywhere near the mass of a wheel pant though.

 

[Jay Honeck]

I used clear silicon RTV to attach vortilons, trim tab, main wing bolt hole covers and landing light lenses on my Velocity. During the first annual (I know, and I don't care), I had to remove the bolt hole covers... those things did not want to come off.

Granted, these parts don't have anywhere near the mass of a wheel pant though.

Data point: I'm not holding wheel pants on with RTV.

 

[ktup-flyer]

I used clear silicon RTV to attach vortilons, trim tab, main wing bolt hole covers and landing light lenses on my Velocity. During the first annual (I know, and I don't care), I had to remove the bolt hole covers... those things did not want to come off.

Granted, these parts don't have anywhere near the mass of a wheel pant though.

pretty sure he's talking about the upper intersection fairings

 

[Acrodustertoo]

Silicone is a fantastic glue! Well done and this is why we build planes, to learn and educate.
I understand your dilemma of posting stuff such as that to the internet. You get some interesting opinions from people.
When I was building the ribs for a Wag-a-bond I had a couple gussets pop off when I was removing it from the jig. I posted a question asking if I had to sand off the old T-88 or just apply some more and stick the gusset back on. Simple question I thought, well I had numerous people telling me that I should scrap every one of my ribs and start over(I was done making ribs at this point) since they were "unsafe", some said rebuild a new rib to replace the ones missing a gusset and so on. It is fun at times to listen to this stuff but in the end it is up to us to sort through all the BS.

 

[Jay Honeck]

Silicone is a fantastic glue! Well done and this is why we build planes, to learn and educate.
I understand your dilemma of posting stuff such as that to the internet. You get some interesting opinions from people.
When I was building the ribs for a Wag-a-bond I had a couple gussets pop off when I was removing it from the jig. I posted a question asking if I had to sand off the old T-88 or just apply some more and stick the gusset back on. Simple question I thought, well I had numerous people telling me that I should scrap every one of my ribs and start over(I was done making ribs at this point) since they were "unsafe", some said rebuild a new rib to replace the ones missing a gusset and so on. It is fun at times to listen to this stuff but in the end it is up to us to sort through all the BS.

Very true. Well put.