Patching Monokote Covering Holes

[Kafin Noe’man]

Beside using Monokote, what are the other options (preferably quicker) for patching holes on Monokote wing covering?

[Steve Helmick]

The combat guys tend to use a lot of clear packaging tape...the stuff used to seal/close cardboard boxes.  Steve

[Dan McEntee]

      If you have some trim monokote sheets, they are self stick and can blend in well. The before mentioned box tape has been a favorite of mine for years. 3M makes a 3" wide roll of box tape that is a particular favorite of mine. If the hole is on a rib bay and you have some matching covering, cut a patch about 3/4" bigger than the hole, clip the corners so that the don't tend to curl up, and tack down along the edges carefully. When you have the edge sealed all the way around, then shrink with the iron. It helps of you can go from rib to rib with any patch.
   Type at you later,
  Dan McEntee

[Colin McRae]

I carry the clear packing tape in my field box for quick repairs in the field to be able to continue flying. Then properly patch w/ Monokote once I get home. I consider the packing tape to be a temporary fix.

[Brett Buck]

I carry the clear packing tape in my field box for quick repairs in the field to be able to continue flying. Then properly patch w/ Monokote once I get home. I consider the packing tape to be a temporary fix.

Absolutely, packing tape is cheap and  easy for field repairs. That and Hot Stuff means you can almost completely rebuild the airplane at the field.

Brett

[Ara Dedekian]

          I use Titebond glue for ugly but permanent repairs of a puncture. If the edges of the tear can be worked up so they're contacting and staying in place, a thin bead of glue will hold them there when dry. Titebond dries with a matt finish and hides the repair better than a gloss glue like Elmers.

         My ironed on patches get peeling corners, the glue is permanent with no maintenance required. The photos show the repair on an ancient silk covered Super Duper Zilch. The black area is the underlying silk. The repair on an RC monokoted wing is a large tear that is holding up well to flying.

         The photos are a bit misleading, the surface over the tears are quite fair and not jagged.

          Ara

[john e. holliday]

As Dan says square patches will lift over time.  I cut mine over size in a circle or oblong shape.  Make sure to clean area good.

[John Carrodus]

My friend Gerald has a bunch of combat wings that are a couple of years old 60% covered with wide sellotape. They still fly well and I strongly suspect that if the tape was removed the whole wing would collapse in most cases.