What's the best hinge tape these days and who sells it? I want something that will not yellow with age and that will stay stuck to my wing. I have some of that fancy 3M stuff that is supposed to be the shiznitz but it comes off in the Cali desert heat and it is not real clear either. Need clear or white tape that will stay stuck!

TFLG

Plastic hocky tape. About $2.50 a roll. Black, white and clear.

Plastic hocky tape is fine for taping the wing fuse gap. I'm not going to use it as a hinge. The adhesive is not strong enough.

TFLG

You've tried it as a hinge???

3M Blenderm...there is no substitute. Do a search on it here in the Zone.

I got a roll of bookbinder's tape from the office supply. It has worked real well on ailerons, spoilers, elevators, rudders, and flaps.... I'm almost out. I have had some clear packing tape on the root of my Hawk wings for 2 years to protect the Ultracote from taping the wings to the fuse. It has not yellowed yet and hasn't become gummy or anything flying almost every weekend in the hot Houston summers. The Ultracote has faded, tho... I've used it for spoilers, too.

AJ

I second the Blenderm, although 3M "Scotch" brand makes a tape that I like even more, when I can find it. The only difference I can see is that Blenderm is "Flat" and the repair tape is "Glossy".

Brian,

The Ski industrie (Sport shops ) uses Scott industrial tape (don’t know the No) for the Ski edges, which is reported also perfect for hinges

A few German F3B guys using it on there Models, so it should be good .

Cheers
Thomas

I like Blenderm. Neither the freezing temperatures of MN nor the heat and humidity of Florida bother it. Only problem is I have to order it by the box since the local drug stores dont carry it. I gotta try some of the "clear repair tape" that Irsudog suggested when I run across some.

How about 3M 600. Comes in a 3/4" wide roll.

Blenderm is sold by Dubro.

If you want to buy Blenderm from Dubro I have a bridge for sale that you'll be very interested in.

I go to the first aid section in Wal Mart and get the same stuff for about a tenth the price. Johnson and Johnson sells some stuff that is the same as far as I can tell.

If you want some better tape try Don Richmond at hilaunch.com. He sells a roll of tape that won't stretch (at all), has a very tenacious adhesive, and is thinner than Blenderm. Sunlight does something to the adhesive that makes it set up like epoxy resin. If you leave the roll laying out in the sun it's a bad thing, but if you store it in a drawer and put the plane out in the sun after the tape is on it's a good thing. A roll will last enough planes to wear out anybody's wallet. It's better for the bigger and faster planes than Blenderm. The blenderm is great for hand launch stuff and things like my Tensor.

I picked up some Graupner hinge tape at my LHS a while back. They don't carry it anymore but it was VERY nice.

The tape is extremely thin and almost invisible when applied to a surface. It would stretch if you pulled really hard. It would not stretch much though.

Jared

I like the Graupner hinge tape too. For a while, it was way too expensive. It is available in white and clear. 32 feet (what metric size is that?) for $3.50 for the white and $5.50 for the clear. I don't know why the premium on the clear.

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/miscitems.htm

EJ