Piper 32-300 w/ black leading edges
 

Hi,
I am flying a Cherokee six in Mozambique, you know how hot it gets here. We bought a Cherokee six with black painted leading edges. For some reason, I am not sure if this is THE factor, but this Cherokee six has less performance than the other ones we have. I am not sure if the black painted leading edges might contribute to the performance degradation we have been noticing. When we are on the ground and the sun is hitting the wing, you simply cannot hold your hand more than 5 seconds on the black stripe, it’s burning hot. Do you think it might influence the wings aerodynamic flow?

Take it off
 

The hot LE's will take the pressure point on the LE futher up and this will infuance the amount of air flowing below or on top of the wing. Basic but most importend in flying!

Is that really black paint - or maybe icing boots ?

Piper 32-300 w/ black leading edges
 

Dakota...where did you study aerodynamics and principles of flight?

As mentioned on a similar thread, check your engine first.

Is this supposed to be a joke? I must've skipped ground school when they taught that one!:rolleyes:

This must be what OP is referring to

http://images.globalair.com/ganimage...640003_e_e.jpg

A black painted leading edge? Usually that's from someone removing the boots and then painting it so it looks the same...what other shortcuts have been taken?

Check to see the condition of it. A lot of people use automotive paint which is not good enough for something as important as the leading edge.
I remember reading somewhere that it encourages separation and raises the stall speed a few knots.

Performance wise, worst case scenario is that it will cost you a knot or two. That wont be the main source of your problems. Just a contributing factor.

seconded. Also the weight of the paint could be a factor. I remember we had one helicopter that had worse performance because it had been repainted and weighed quite a bit more than the others, which only had one coat of paint. Just the leading edge probably wouldnt affect much, but if the LE has been repainted, chances are good that the rest might have been repainted as well at some point.

Drop a note with the serial numbers to these guys and ask them to confirm the original specifications and to submit the enquiry about performance to their technical section.Home - Piper

Black strip is there to visually detect ice, not to throw it off or do black magic.

On the Beech Staggerwing they used rhino hide as a leading edge laminate. It's very durable.