Airplane wrap help

[ucmj22]

So we just finished wraping a 25ft camper for this guy, and now he called us and said this guy he talked to wants his plane wrapped before it goes to the gulf to help in the oil spill. How do I design and wrap a conical shape? I thought maybe doing it in 24" wide pieces instead of 52" panels to cut down on having tons of waves on one edge. It is a chemical sraying plane, so it isnt huge, but also means that the difference in circumference is more drastic from center to ends of the plane. anyone done this before? got any ideas?

 

[AUTO-FX]

are you going to wrap the fuselage only ? i would think... I never wrapped a plane, but a tip from when i did a helicopter graphics package- the skin (probably aluminum) is fragile so dont dont dont cut into it or you could induce stress fractures later and that would be a huge liability. Be very aware and careful when cutting on any airplane surfaces.

 

[Fred Weiss]

I just talked to my son who is a pilot. He says he's never seen a wrapped aircraft and wonders why you wouldn't just apply the graphics only where needed. Some points he made:

• There are certain surfaces and ports on an aircraft that cannot be covered without creating a hazard that might cause the aircraft to crash. Sensors for altitude, air speed etc.
• The first crash of a Boeing 757 was caused by covering a critical sensor with a vinyl decal.
• The first place to check with would be the appropriate FAA Flight Standards District Office. Whether that would be Illinois or the Gulf region is not clear. Here's a link to their search page.

 

[signcrafters london]

the skin (probably aluminum) is fragile so dont dont dont cut into it or you could induce stress fractures later and that would be a huge liability. Be very aware and careful when cutting on any airplane surfaces.

I put regular vinyl on this ultralight 10-12 years ago. I was a nervous wreck worrying that I could cause damage with my xacto or even squeegee. It made it a helluva lot heavier, too.

 

[JimJenson]

If its a certified aircraft, I would suggest checking in with the FSDO in your area before wrapping.

If its registered as an experimental, go for it.

 

[ucmj22]

wrap or not

I immediately thought decal package when I heard about it, not wrap, but they said they wanted it wrapped like the promotional racecar they had wrapped so I dont know how much they have actually thought this through. If I can I will definitely steer them in to a decal package, I'm just trying to prepare for the worst.

 

[Salmoneye]

Aircraft can fly at altitudes that might be -40 and then land on a hot runway. That is a lot of shrinkage and expansion. Will there be enough weight to the wrap that the weight and balance certification must be redone? If a piece came loose due to some extreme temperature ... Is there any chance that it could obstruct one of the control surfaces or cover an sensor or sending unit inlet? How does ice form on vinyl compared to the fabric or aluminum skin? I am sure that there are a million other questions that we should be asking. I have duct-taped wings and flown so I am not necessarily against it but remember that if something goes wrong there is no pulling over to the side of the road for these folks and we don't want em dead.

 

[ucmj22]

they are crop dusting planes that will be spraying disbursement chemicals over the oil spill. I was thinking that maybe just doing the bottom of the plane might be an option with decal package on the sides

 

[JimJenson]

On a certified airframe, you cannot paint or wrap a control surface unless you have a mechanics license and the knowledge to ability to remove and re-balance the control surface. You also need the legal authorizaton to make an airframe logbook notation of the work, date, and who did the job.

 

[ucmj22]

ok, so anything that looks like a sensor will not be wrapped IE will be cut out like a key hole, or vehicle light. I'm not planning on doing a blanket wrap and blindly covering stuff up or putting perforated film over the windshield, I, just trying to find out how I would wrap those curves, but it sounds like it doesn't matter cuz I cant fart in the direction of an airplane without having a permit or license

 

[ProWraps]

run away. chances are your insurance has a clause against aircraft work.

you are working with so many dangerous variables and liabilities its unreal. we wont touch em.

 

[JimJenson]

ok, so anything that looks like a sensor will not be wrapped IE will be cut out like a key hole, or vehicle light. I'm not planning on doing a blanket wrap and blindly covering stuff up or putting perforated film over the windshield, I, just trying to find out how I would wrap those curves, but it sounds like it doesn't matter cuz I cant fart in the direction of an airplane without having a permit or license

In a nutshell,
If it is an experimental (homebuilt) go for it. An owner/builder can endorse modification in the log books.

If it is a certified aircraft, run away.

 

[ucmj22]

run away. chances are your insurance has a clause against aircraft work.

you are working with so many dangerous variables and liabilities its unreal. we wont touch em.

so, do you just not do full wraps on planes, or is this not you guys? http://wraps.pro/prowraps-vehicle-wrap-gallery-other-work.php

 

[ucmj22]

So, do you not see that that's not a wrap, or are your reading glasses at home?

yeahh.. so thats probably why I asked if they just dont do "full" wraps since I was trying to discern whether there would be a difference in my requirement to meet regulations and insurance stipulations which he spoke of on wraps Vs. decal application. I just wanted to make sure that that was the right website, and if by "we wont touch them" referred to Airplanes, or airplane wraps. my reading glasses are well in hand thank you.

 

[Salmoneye]

If you are going to just do this anyway please remember that a static air vent might just look like a pin hole if you don't know what you are looking for.

 

[ucmj22]

I came for advice, and Plan to take it to heart. And quite frankly after listening to everyone, and watching this vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go-PjCuLbOo I think I will probably push as hard as I can towards a decal package, but now that you just said that, how do I know I wont cover up one of those pin hole sensors with a 12 inch decal. I guess my point is that there are companies out there that are doing Aircraft wraps all the time, and they were probably in the same boat I am right now when they started, so Should I take the time and expand my offerings, or let someone else make the money?

 

[Gordy Saunders]

It is my understanding that you have to be certified to do aircraft applications. I checked it out a couple of years ago and discovered that only certian types of vinyl are used in aircraft applications. At that time the only source that I could find for the vinyl was 3M. 3M will not sell you the vinyl unless you are certified to do aircraft applications. 3M also had a certification program. You might want to check with 3M and see if they still have it going on.

 

[JimJenson]

how do I know I wont cover up one of those pin hole sensors with a 12 inch decal.

The pin holes are called "static ports", There is at least one on every plane with an altimeter. On planes with autopilots, there are additional static ports.

Generally a pilot or AP mechanic can point them out. They are part of the preflight inspection. Typically, they look like a disc the size of a quarter with a pin hole in the middle. On small planes, they are usually located on the left side of the airplane, forward of the instrument panel. Planes with an AP, an additional static port could be almost anywhere depending on where the AP is mounted.

 

[threads1]

What you will be working on is definetly not an experimental aircraft. It might be an Ag-Cat or something similar that is certified to handle the weight of the chemicals. That being said.......the owner or pilot in charge of the aircraft will have to get YOUR installation signed-off by a licensed A & P. (Airframe & Powerplant). A log entry must be made by the A & P verifying the install to be airworthy. After that is done you are not responsible...he is. So, BEFORE you do the job I would have a little meet & greet with the A & P so you know what he will sign for and what areas not to cover up.

 

[JimJenson]

That being said.......the owner or pilot in charge of the aircraft will have to get YOUR installation signed-off by a licensed A & P. (Airframe & Powerplant). A log entry must be made by the A & P verifying the install to be airworthy. After that is done you are not responsible...he is. So, BEFORE you do the job I would have a little meet & greet with the A & P so you know what he will sign for and what areas not to cover up.

Not so simple...

Technically, since the vinyl does not have a part number from the manufacturer of the aircraft, it could be viewed as an Alteration/Modification. As an alteration or modification, you'd need FAA- Form 337. You would need to submit the approved data, which would be signed off by an IA, and approved by the FSDO. The FAA may even do a field inspection, if they are not familiar with the IA submitting the paperwork. Depending on the FSDO you are working with, it would either be difficult or impossible to get an approval. (BTW, tail number decals have part numbers). This is why I initally posted to contact the flight standards district office. They are the ones interpreting the rules, and they are ultimatly the ones to determine airworthiness and the legitimacy of a repair or modification (installation). You'd have no problem painting the plane with an ap's signoff, but installing vinyl could be open to interpretation of the rules.

At the owners risk, once an aircraft is modified and it is found to not have the proper paperwork, it is essentially unairworthy, thus rendering the aircraft un-insured, since the first line in the inflight portion of the insurance doc's require the plane to be maintained in airworthy condition. You could have trouble with liability, should a mishap occur.

And before someone chimes in about Cirrus (and others) airplanes having Vinyl Decals on them, they are part of the type certificate, in that the plane was certified with the vinyl decals. The side markings have part numbers.

 

[threads1]

Hey Jim...you are absolutely correct. It could go the way you described but, more than likely, it won’t. If the A & P agrees to sign off on the installation I think UCMJ22 will be O.K. Airplanes are a P.I.A. but working on them is not impossible. It really just takes a qualified person to look over your shoulder or inspect the finished product. ( that’s the uncomplicated version ).