Fixing wing tip installation

murphey

murphey

Touchdown! Greaser!
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murphey
Almost 20 years ago, when I bought the cherokee, I had Hoerner tips installed. A&P really didn’t do a good job and the wing tips don’t fit smoothly. Two choices: new tips installed properly or....tape over the edge of the wing so there’s no gaps.

To clarify....in between each pair of screws holding the wing tip to the wing, the fiberglass is buckled so there's about 1/2 in gap between the wing tip and the wing.

Taking the lower cost option, is this a A&P signoff or owner maintenance? It could be structural, needing the A&P. Or not.....any opinions (silly question) or factual references.
 
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murphey said:
Almost 20 years ago, when I bought the cherokee, I had Hoerner tips installed. A&P really didn’t do a good job and the wing tips don’t fit smoothly. Two choices: new tips installed properly or....tape over the edge of the wing so there’s no gaps.

Taking the lower cost option, is this a A&P signoff or owner maintenance? It could be structural, needing the A&P. Or not.....any opinions (silly question) or factual references.
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Do they look worse or better than this? When the tips were affixed there were (and are) some gaps between each screw. They also don't perfectly conform to the LE of my wing as you see. And this was the second set of tips we tried after returning the first set. Those were truly bad. I guess my point being it may not have been your A&P's fault.
photo 2.JPG
 
murphey said:
Need something at least 2 inch wide.
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It’s all in what you call it. :) Heck, we’ve got trim stripes way wider than that. None made out of Gorilla Tape, but they could be.
 
iflyvfr said:
Do they look worse or better than this? When the tips were affixed there were (and are) some gaps between each screw. They also don't perfectly conform to the LE of my wing as you see. And this was the second set of tips we tried after returning the first set. Those were truly bad. I guess my point being it may not have been your A&P's fault.
View attachment 78222
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Worse. Not kidding when I say the buckling is between 2 screws, it's between every pair of screws, both top and bottom.
 
DaleB said:
It’s all in what you call it. :) Heck, we’ve got trim stripes way wider than that. None made out of Gorilla Tape, but they could be.
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Got more details/name?
 
Hi Murphey, suggest you ask an A&P to take a look then advise you. One potential problem is if you have cracks in the wingtips they may need to be stop drilled before you cover them with tape. Hope life is treating you with kindness and respect!

Be legal, safe and smart!
 
If the tips are fiberglass they can be heated with a heat gun and shaped to fit much better. Heat to hot but not blistering the paint and shape by hand with a curved block of wood. While holding it down flat spray with water to cool. It will retain the new shape from then on. You could alternatively remove then and heat a section at a time and shape it with two aluminum rulers, one on the inside of the lip and the other on the outside of the lip. When you have the shape you want in that area have your helper set it by spraying with cold water or washing with a wet rag. You wont believe how easily it will move for you. Once happy with the fit add a layer or two of thin fiberglass cloth on the inside to strengthen it. This method works very very well to reshape warped 50 year old Cherokee nose bowls.
 
murphey said:
the fiberglass is buckled so there's about 1/2 in gap
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FYI: most composite wingtips (plastic or fiberglass) without a metal mount strip will warp like that over time and usually has nothing to do with install. If they are fiberglass then you have a chance to straighten them out as mentioned above. However, a number of my old customers would just change them out with new/used ones when it became an "issue" to them. One thing I would if possible was to reinforce the mount edge or add additional mount screws to reduce a future occurance. But all this would require your mechanic to do it.
 
Bell206 said:
FYI: most composite wingtips (plastic or fiberglass) without a metal mount strip will warp like that over time and usually has nothing to do with install. If they are fiberglass then you have a chance to straighten them out as mentioned above. However, a number of my old customers would just change them out with new/used ones when it became an "issue" to them. One thing I would if possible was to reinforce the mount edge or add additional mount screws to reduce a future occurance. But all this would require your mechanic to do it.
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This didn’t happen over time, the tips were installed that way.
 
murphey said:
This didn’t happen over time, the tips were installed that way.
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In that case, the tips were either mis-manufactured or wrong application (i.e., too big for mount structure). Never had a new tip that didnt need some persuasion to slide due to tight tolerance. To get a 1/2" gap between all the mount screws the tip had to be rather oversized from the start. If this is the case then more than likely the tip will not fit regardless what you do without extensive modification.
 
Hmmm. I'd be tempted to glass the holes shut, re-drill (relocating) to smooth out the buckling then shim the tailing edge with more glass work, or perhaps shim the leading edge if looks to be a better option.
 
bnt83 said:
I'd be tempted to glass the holes shut,....
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In my experience, if the tip is oversized relocating the holes would just move the gap around. Had one set that was repaired wrong and had to sand repair thin then slit aft outbd edges and pull tip mount flange tight against wing flange with clecos. Repaired aft edge on wing then relocated mount holes. But found each situation unique in getting it to look right.
 
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