Vinyl wrapping composite aircraft

flyingphil2 · Post by **flyingphil2** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 4:34 pm

Here's a question for the experts.

I note that many racing cars are now being vinyl wrapped (the whole car) rather than painted so as to save weight. Can this be done on a composite aircraft? A quick trawl on the internet came up with a Pulsar in the US that had this done.

The problems I can see are:

1. Cost - more expensive than painting? Don't know. Maybe for a one off but maybe not if several aircraft of the same design were done??
2. Edges peeling up - would have to be careful that all edges were out of wind steps at the rear of wings etc.
3. Colour stability, life expectancy and UV protection.
4. Resistance to fuel etc, effect of vinyl adhesive on structure.

I'm sure items 3 and 4 are easily solved with todays materials and inks.

What do people in the know think? Could this be a real alternative to painting a homebuilt?

Thanks,

Phil

Ian Melville · Post by **Ian Melville** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 5:45 pm

1. may be an issue, but not the others. Loads of aircraft have vinyl regestrations and trim. That seems to stay put.

A possible issue is why are composite aircraft white in the first place, and would vinyl wrap compound that problem?

Adrian Hatton · Post by **Adrian Hatton** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 5:54 pm

The Blades have been flying their Extra 300s wrapped in Barclays livery for several years now and in spite of their best efforts have not succeeded in losing any of the wrap yet.....

http://www.theblades.biz/pages/home.php

Having seen the a/c up close, I would say it is a '10 yard' finish and nowhere near a replacement for a proper quality paint job.

Brian Hope · Post by **Brian Hope** » Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:39 am

Not sure I'd class myself as 'in the know' but I guess for an application like the Blades - multiple aircraft, possibly shortish term sponsorships - that this is a more affordable and faster turnaround solution than conventional re-painting. I can't see there's any real benefit for the regular aircraft owner though, particularly if the aircraft is a composite.
Composites are white for a reason - white reflects more of the heat from the sun and thus keeps the structure cooler than would any other colour. The lay-up needs a hard exterior gel coat, so adding the white pigment to colour the clear gel coat adds little weight, and if weight saving is an issue, stay with a polished white gel coat rather than paint it (I accept that on some designs, or parts of some designs, this may not be possible because you have to join major components during the build and the joints need fairing in and painting). Clever use of adhesive trim lines can make a plain white aircraft look a million dollars.
I've never looked closely at a Blades aircraft, be interested to see how well this application method works with double curvature areas of the aircraft.