Shaping wing tip skids

I have a pair of wing tip skids from Wings and Wheels. They are the
white ones, described on the website as "Gray/white soft rubber-like
material skids". I need to shape them to fit the curvature of the
wing. I have considered using the cylindrical end of my belt sander
but am concerned with loading up the belt very quickly and rendering
it useless. Six inch wide belts are not cheap. Has anyone tried to
shape these to fit the wing?

On Sep 29, 11:20*am, Steve Freeman wrote:
I have a pair of wing tip skids from Wings and Wheels. They are the
white ones, described on the website as "Gray/white soft rubber-like
material skids". I need to shape them to fit the curvature of the
wing. I have considered using the cylindrical end of my belt sander
but am concerned with loading up the belt very quickly and rendering
it useless. Six inch wide belts are not cheap. Has anyone tried to
shape these to fit the wing?

The silicone rubber molded skids I think you are referring to will not
clog your bely based upon my experience.
UH

On Sep 29, 9:13*am, wrote:
On Sep 29, 11:20*am, Steve Freeman wrote:

I have a pair of wing tip skids from Wings and Wheels. They are the
white ones, described on the website as "Gray/white soft rubber-like
material skids". I need to shape them to fit the curvature of the
wing. I have considered using the cylindrical end of my belt sander
but am concerned with loading up the belt very quickly and rendering
it useless. Six inch wide belts are not cheap. Has anyone tried to
shape these to fit the wing?

The silicone rubber molded skids I think you are referring to will not
clog your bely based upon my experience.
UH

They also won't stick to your wing.

Mike

On Sep 29, 1:45*pm, Mike the Strike wrote:
On Sep 29, 9:13*am, wrote:

On Sep 29, 11:20*am, Steve Freeman wrote:

I have a pair of wing tip skids from Wings and Wheels. They are the
white ones, described on the website as "Gray/white soft rubber-like
material skids". I need to shape them to fit the curvature of the
wing. I have considered using the cylindrical end of my belt sander
but am concerned with loading up the belt very quickly and rendering
it useless. Six inch wide belts are not cheap. Has anyone tried to
shape these to fit the wing?

The silicone rubber molded skids I think you are referring to will not
clog your bely based upon my experience.
UH

They also won't stick to your wing.

Mike

They do if you use silicone sealant as adhesive. I Hate that stuff!
UH

Why shape them? Put a thin layer of Bondo on the base of each skid
and have the Bondo conform to the wing shape by pressing it against
the wing exactly where you will ultimately put the skid. Make sure
you put a couple layers of Saran wrap or polyethelene on the wing
first, so the Bondo and skid will lift off after it is hard (a few
minutes. Sand the Bondo to conform to the outside shape of the skid
and paint the whole thing white, then remove the Saran wrap and bond
the skid to the wing as you were planning to: contact cement, double-
sided tape, whatever. Remember, though, that a strong bond will
result in the skid peeling off gelcoat if the skid hits hard -- you
might be better off making the bond with cement that is weaker rather
than more aggressive, so the cement gives up before the gel coat.

Fred

On Sep 29, 8:34*pm, Fred wrote:
Why shape them? *Put a thin layer of Bondo on the base of each skid
and have the Bondo conform to the wing shape by pressing it against
the wing exactly where you will ultimately put the skid. *Make sure
you put a couple layers of Saran wrap or polyethelene on the wing
first, so the Bondo and skid will lift off after it is hard (a few
minutes. *Sand the Bondo to conform to the outside shape of the skid
and paint the whole thing white, then remove the Saran wrap and bond
the skid to the wing as you were planning to: contact cement, double-
sided tape, whatever. *Remember, though, that a strong bond will
result in the skid peeling off gelcoat if the skid hits hard -- you
might be better off making the bond with cement that is weaker rather
than more aggressive, so the cement gives up before the gel coat.

Fred

The silicone wing skids are really nice but, trust me, the only thing
they stick to is runways. First, Fidel at Applebay then I tried five
different adhesives and none worked. They are made of no-stickum!

I ended up shaping some thin plywood to my wing then screwing the
skids to the plywood. The 3M heavy duty double-sided tape works great
for sticking the plywood to the wing. This was a nice solution for
the Discus 2 since I needed a bit more skid clearance for our rocky
runways.

I'd be very surprised if Bondo would stick, but hey, try it and report
back!

Mike

On 9/29/11 9:12 PM, Mike the Strike wrote:
On Sep 29, 8:34 pm, wrote:
Why shape them? Put a thin layer of Bondo on the base of each skid
and have the Bondo conform to the wing shape by pressing it against
the wing exactly where you will ultimately put the skid. Make sure
you put a couple layers of Saran wrap or polyethelene on the wing
first, so the Bondo and skid will lift off after it is hard (a few
minutes. Sand the Bondo to conform to the outside shape of the skid
and paint the whole thing white, then remove the Saran wrap and bond
the skid to the wing as you were planning to: contact cement, double-
sided tape, whatever. Remember, though, that a strong bond will
result in the skid peeling off gelcoat if the skid hits hard -- you
might be better off making the bond with cement that is weaker rather
than more aggressive, so the cement gives up before the gel coat.

Fred

The silicone wing skids are really nice but, trust me, the only thing
they stick to is runways. First, Fidel at Applebay then I tried five
different adhesives and none worked. They are made of no-stickum!

I ended up shaping some thin plywood to my wing then screwing the
skids to the plywood. The 3M heavy duty double-sided tape works great
for sticking the plywood to the wing. This was a nice solution for
the Discus 2 since I needed a bit more skid clearance for our rocky
runways.

I'd be very surprised if Bondo would stick, but hey, try it and report
back!

Mike

And if they don't work out as wing tip wheels the soft consistency may
mean they works great as a belt sander cleaner stick. :-)

Darryl

Hi,

I sell non-silicone wingtip skip options he
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/mz.htm

The 2nd option shown may or may not be silicone. But there are clear
directions on the page for installing them.

Good Soaring,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.

"Mike the Strike" wrote in message
...
On Sep 29, 8:34 pm, Fred wrote:
Why shape them? Put a thin layer of Bondo on the base of each skid
and have the Bondo conform to the wing shape by pressing it against
the wing exactly where you will ultimately put the skid. Make sure
you put a couple layers of Saran wrap or polyethelene on the wing
first, so the Bondo and skid will lift off after it is hard (a few
minutes. Sand the Bondo to conform to the outside shape of the skid
and paint the whole thing white, then remove the Saran wrap and bond
the skid to the wing as you were planning to: contact cement, double-
sided tape, whatever. Remember, though, that a strong bond will
result in the skid peeling off gelcoat if the skid hits hard -- you
might be better off making the bond with cement that is weaker rather
than more aggressive, so the cement gives up before the gel coat.

Fred

The silicone wing skids are really nice but, trust me, the only thing
they stick to is runways. First, Fidel at Applebay then I tried five
different adhesives and none worked. They are made of no-stickum!

I ended up shaping some thin plywood to my wing then screwing the
skids to the plywood. The 3M heavy duty double-sided tape works great
for sticking the plywood to the wing. This was a nice solution for
the Discus 2 since I needed a bit more skid clearance for our rocky
runways.

I'd be very surprised if Bondo would stick, but hey, try it and report
back!

Mike

I stopped using tip skids and went to wing tip wheels years ago. Neat
little nylon wheels mounted in a Delan housing, About the size of
Libelle tip wheels with a fared-in housing. The Delan housing can be
shaped to the wing contour by tapping a sheet of 40 grit to the wing
then sanding the housing to the shape of the airfoil by moving the
wheel housing span-wise until a perfect match is obtained. Google
Williams Soaring for photo, price $150. A wing tip wheel makes it much
easier to move the ship without any help or ground handling equipment
as is necessary for an aero-retrieve.
Cheers,
JJ.

http://www.williamssoaring.com/catalog/tires.html

"JJ Sinclair" wrote in message
...


I stopped using tip skids and went to wing tip wheels years ago. Neat
little nylon wheels mounted in a Delan housing, About the size of
Libelle tip wheels with a fared-in housing. The Delan housing can be
shaped to the wing contour by tapping a sheet of 40 grit to the wing
then sanding the housing to the shape of the airfoil by moving the
wheel housing span-wise until a perfect match is obtained. Google
Williams Soaring for photo, price $150. A wing tip wheel makes it much
easier to move the ship without any help or ground handling equipment
as is necessary for an aero-retrieve.
Cheers,
JJ.