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By lizzard
#399229
Hi all ,
I have a shark 156 that is mostly used on my nanotrike and like many of them the cross-weave leading edge is
flaking off . All of the x weave are there but same have lost contact with the base material .

I do not notice any adverse effects on performance but it is surely not ideal.

It got me thinking that there is not much lost in strength and what is lost is already gone.
the rest of the sail is almost like new so a solution needs to be implemented.

Here are the options as I see them
1. cover the whole leading edge with sticky-back (sail repair)
2. run 2 or 3 strips of reinforced sail repair tape from tip to nose-plate .
3. Paint it with something that might stay in place to preserve what is there .
plastic house paint? mineral or thinners based automotive
4. have the leading edges resown with Dacron( expensive and risky as sail makers don't like mixing old with new)

5. Ask for input from the best in the game before wrecking what is a good glider (current strategy)

I'm sure that there are many gliders with this manufacturing defect (not at the time of course)
It seem a shame to adopt the throw away attitude while a solution must be available

I could just keep flying her but preserving her somehow should be viable with the right product

I'm all ears !
User avatar
By TrikeTrash
#399237
I've used the adhesive E6000 on a couple of fabric projects and it seems to work well. It remains flexible and is self leveling. I even embeded some fiberglass within it. Just dab it on, thin with a spatula and then leave it
alone for 24 hours...


Mark
User avatar
By AIRTHUG
#399238
Recommend leading edge replacement. Not all that complicated... for someone with the right expertise and experience.

Where are you located? East coast = Marilyn Nichols is a hang glider sail magician. West coast see if Mitch McAleer is taking on sail work...