Wasp - proof wings

[TimHicks]

Here in South Louisiana, a part of every preflight is looking for and removing wasp nests. Dirt-daubers, a kind of wasp that builds their nests of mud, can clog pitot tubes and sting viciously when threatened. When I opened my wings, I found dozens of dirt-dauber nests, often near the openings for aileron brackets, the strut attach brackets and at the wing root.

When I re-cover, I'm thinking about sealing the fabric to the stationary brackets to prevent ingress at those locations.

The openings in the fabric for moveable parts (aileron pushrod, aileron cables) are tougher. Any ideas?

I'll still have drain holes (they appear to be too small for wasps to pass) and inspection holes (with covers, wasps can't get in).

Also is there any experience with any downside of making the wing too well-sealed?

[paulnuss]

Re: Wasp - proof wings

A completely sealed wing (not likely in a rag-wing Taylorcraft) would puff up like potato chip bags do at altitude! That actually is a consideration when building many wings. Other than that, I personally believe the better-sealed to keep the pests out, the better, assuming required drain holes, etc!

[Ray]

Re: Wasp - proof wings

I live in southern Mississippi and keep my plane at St Elmo, near Grand Bay Alabama. I am close to finishing it and I put pinked patches around the stationary brackets but the control output is open, I also have the drain holes. I will be putting foam into the control output to try to keep them out. When I removed the covering there must have been 10 pounds of these damn things in my wings

[Larry Lyons]

Re: Wasp - proof wings

Love this thread! I live where we have both "mud daubers" (wasps) and the paper wasps too. I am looking forward to some ideas to repel these "pests" and that is a gentlemans way of describing these guys. Mud daubers are a real problem around here, especialy by the Mississippi River. L

[guns68]

Re: Wasp - proof wings

Great, so I'm going to go from chasing corrosion to chasing bugs!

[skyboltone]

Re: Wasp - proof wings

At your big box hardware store you will find the latest iteration of the original Shell No-Pest strip. I forget what it's now called but it's a solid insecticide. It's potent enough that they recommend you don't put them anyplace where humans spend a lot of time. I would put one behind an inspection cover in each wing, back somewhere behind the baggage sling and inside the engine cowl. Take the engine one out before flight. I imagine that the heat may activate the stuff and be pretty unpleasant to be around. Back in the day before we found out that formaldehyde would cause your babies to be born naked there was a product that contained a small amount of the stuff infused into a powder in a tobacco sack. I used it on my boat to keep rats out of things.

[TimHicks]

Re: Wasp - proof wings

I live in southern Mississippi and keep my plane at St Elmo, near Grand Bay Alabama. I am close to finishing it and I put pinked patches around the stationary brackets but the control output is open, I also have the drain holes. I will be putting foam into the control output to try to keep them out. When I removed the covering there must have been 10 pounds of these damn things in my wings

Ray, When you say you'll put foam around the control output, do you mean when the plane is hangared only? Something that you'll remove for flight? Or something that stays in place during flight?

Also, the strut attach fittings pass through the fabric with a "C" section. How do you coax the fabric to fill the inside of the "C"?
(Forgive me if this is obvious to everybody. I'm new to the covering process.)

[Ray]

Re: Wasp - proof wings

Tim give me a call at 228-596-6573

I will be putting some foam on those large openings with red flags and I got the fabric so close to the hinge portion they cannot get in that way. As far as coaxing the fabric down it depends on what type of fabric you will be working with. I can give you all the hints you need for Poly Fiber and very little on ceconite. I have covered 3 planes with the poly fiber process and painted several aluminum planes.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Wasp - proof wings

NOTHING works as easy as Grade A Cotton and Nitrate Dope for that kind of sealing. Unfortunately, covering with Grade A is a lost cause anymore. They used to use Cotton tapes on Stitts (I think, at least I have pulled a LOT of old cotton tape off old cover jobs). I wonder if the A&P/IAs out there would sign off a synthetic cover job with cotton used just to close off the small holes? That way the cotton would NOT be used to carry covering loads, like the tapes were being used for, but could be used to seal up the holes and keep the bugs out.
Hank

Somehow I DON'T think the cotton tapes are still legal.