The advantage of using 100% Wood Fiber Enviro-Flagging™ ,
is that is can be used in wet weather without it accidentally tearing.
In Hawaii we use it exclusively, even in dry weather. We have found that the red
seems to cut easier than the orange or the blue, and also has better visibility
than the blue, because Hawaii's sky is usually BLUE.
In Hawaii, we use the tape at the full 3/4" width.
However, some people expressed a desire to split the flagging tape cleanly in half length wise, below is shown a simply constructed devise for doing so.
One roll of material will make16 thirty foot streamers. And it only takes seconds to
split 30 feet in half. So you don't need to prepare these streamers before the contest.
Just make them on site if rain throws a wet blanket on your combat day fun.
You know ... those wet days when regular crepe type streamers break before Dr. Evil
himself has a chance to cut it off your airplane!
The material is available on line. The costs is $1.45 (US) per roll (250 feet) when ordering at least 12 rolls.
Select the "Forestry, Firefighting & Tree Planting" icon on
the top right , and then Flagging- roll, then 100% Wood Fiber Enviro-Flagging™,
after using this link: http://www.forestry-suppliers.com
Materials required to construct the splitter:
One box cutter razor knife (from hardware or office supply store)
Two pieces of 2" x 1" wood about 4 inches long
Two small pieces of wood used to clamp the box cutter knife in place
Two wood screws
CA glue
A surface to mount the splitter on. I used the side of my wooden flight box since it is
nice and stable, and always goes to the flying site with me.
Time required to build the splitter:
Less than one hour
Construction notes:
First, look at all the photos and their text that are located below.
Sand smooth the surfaces which the tape will come in contact with while using the
splitter.
Drill two holes through the smaller pieces of wood. Locate these holes so the box knife
fits between them when angled at about 45 degrees( see photo 2). Sorry about the blur!
Drill two holes in the mounting surface using the other holes as a guide. Remember to
allow enough room for the knife blade to be retracted downward while loading tape into the
splitter.
Clamp the box cutter knife to your chosen surface using the two wood
screws and two small pieces of hard wood. The razor blade must be positioned facing up,
and half of the streamer width away from the mounting surface in order to split the
streamer evenly (see photo 1). Don't over tighten the screws, you must be able to slide
the blade of the knife back and forth in it's handle.
Now position the 2" x 1" "guide" as indicated in photos 3 & 4, and
use a pencil to mark around it on the mounting surface.
Use CA to glue the 2" x 1" guide to the mounting surface, using the pencil marks
as location references.
Now position the other 2" x 1" wood perpendicular (90 degrees) relative to the first, being sure to keep a 1/16" space between the two edges as in photo 1. Pencil mark it's location, then CA glue into place using marks as a reference.
You're done!
To use the splitter.
Retract the knife blade downward so that you can slide the tape into the guide slots from
the side.
Place the roll of material into the splitter, with it positioned against the mounting
surface as seen in Photo 5.
Push the knife blade upward into cutting position as seen in Photo 4.
Now simply pull the material straight through the guide.
With a little practice, you will be ripping out streamers hand over hand very quickly.
If you come up with an improvement for the Splitter, please let me know.
email: Fly@Hawaii.rr.com
Thanks
