Wrapping Cirrus

Happy Saturday all,
Looking for info on having a partial wrap done on my SR20.
I’ve seen a few have done theirs and they look amazing.
What does the FAA think about this, what are the limitations and what kind of log entry would satisfy them?
thanks
stay safe - fly higher

There is a big recent thread on the topic here. Don’t forget to use the Search function!

thanks for responding, Gordon - I did try the search and just again and your link and the only item I see is the one I posted. I am obviously missing something?
thanks

I think so. The link I posted was to a thread with 38 posts on the subject. It sounds like you are not logged in as a member. Did you follow the procedure to reset your password for the new site per the email that was sent out?

Gordon, it all cleared up, not sure what the hang up was, but i see all the comments now, although some confusing ones - thanks again.

It would be nice if there was an answer to this.

Search only returns this page. And your link doesn’t work

@striker1976

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I doubt if you will get a highly researched and data rich answer. I can comment from 2 directions.

First, the Cirrus is a composite plane and as such Cirrus engineered in a certain amount of UV reflectivity into its colors to reduce heat which might weaken the structure. For example in the wings have very limited colors because of the structural nature of a wing. White and silver are the main colors there (other than accent striping) for this reason.

Second, I think it would be downright dangerous to wrap the CAPS cover area. There is a cap that is basically designed to knock out with when the chute deploys. I have to imagine a thin wrap with high tensile strength could limit, slow or stop the CAPS cover coming out. There has been one failure to extract believed to be because the rolling moment of the plane was so fast the tug of the chute came sideways instead of straight out. If that rolling moment could do it, what would a few mil thick high tensile wrap do? No one knows. At the very least that would require testing.

Between the extraction testing and the UV reflectivity issue if someone brought me a wrapped Cirrus for an annual inspection I would find it not airworthy. At least until data could convince me it was not a hazard.

Saw you posted this in FB. I don’t respond there, I hope you come back and read this.

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Great response thank you. There are several businesses now that specialize in this. And many cirrus have had it done. Just not sure how it could be possible .

Don’t ask and you can’t be told no? I think putting accent stripes on this way might be ok. But a full wrap to me is risky. If enough are done sooner or later we will get test data from the field. That is someone with a wrap will pull CAPS and we will see their result.

I would also wonder about P-Static. Love to hear from folks that have done it about that. Heck, it might even help, PS is weird stuff and some planes are blessed more than others with it.

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I would definitely not wrap flying surfaces. Just imagine if you had a cut in the middle of the wing and air would engulf in the opening, making it larger and acting as an out of control air brake…

Without having any data I can see that wrapping the CAPS cover area (and the channels for the belts!) can be risky. I would not do it without clear approval from Cirrus – which no one will ever get, I bet. Why should they risk that without having tested it, and I bet they will not test it for that reason.

Exactly and I could also see where the same restrictions from the vinyl wrapping potentially limiting or stopping the chute to fully deploy along it’s breakaway tracks along the sides of the airplane.

One time when Ray and I were moving and boxing up our things, we were using “spider wrap” to secure breakable items. Ray held the plastic wrap dispenser and I would spin the item. I remember that we were laughing about something and I spun around and got wrapped in one twist of the wrap. I could not move my arms at all and that was just with one twist of the wrap. I might as well have been encased in cement (or carbonite, if you’re a Star Wars fan :grinning:)

Personally, I would not be comfortable wrapping any of the parts of a Cirrus that had anything to do with the chute or the chute deployment.

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Agreed. Thank you. I am sure the private side came to the same conclusion. But i guess I will never know. It is always helpful for the community to share safety advice.

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