Loading…
13
That cracked leading edge tape cost me a full inspection today
Found a 6 inch split in the leading edge tape on a 172 during preflight this morning, right where the slat track rubs. Had to pull the cowl and do the full detailed check, took three hours and a roll of speed tape to get it signed off. Anyone else seeing this fail more often on older airframes, or am I just getting the unlucky ones?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
terryk281mo ago
That three hour ordeal sounds about right... the tape on the older 172s seems to shrink and crack right at that slat track point like clockwork. I've seen it on three different airframes this year alone, all mid to late 90s models. The real kicker is the inspection checklist has you checking way more than just the tape once you find a split, so you're already committed to pulling panels before you even know if anything else is wrong. What gets me is the tape itself is cheap, but the labor and the downtime is what hurts every time. If you're seeing it on multiple planes, it might be worth checking if the track alignment is off, that rubs the tape worse and makes it fail faster.
4