Canopy and Wing Covers

[Reid & Julie Baldwin]

I just became the new owner of a Piper PA-16 Clipper. I hope to get
it into a hangar. However, I may need to park it outside for awhile in the
meantime. I looked up airplane covers on the internet and found several
brands: Bruce's Custom Covers, Kennon Aircraft Covers, Cunningham
Aircraft Covers, etc. I am interested in finding out about other people's
experiences with these covers.

Are some brands better than others?

What features should I look for?

[David Megginson]

"Reid & Julie Baldwin" > writes:

> I just became the new owner of a Piper PA-16 Clipper. I hope to get
> it into a hangar. However, I may need to park it outside for awhile in the
> meantime. I looked up airplane covers on the internet and found several
> brands: Bruce's Custom Covers, Kennon Aircraft Covers, Cunningham
> Aircraft Covers, etc. I am interested in finding out about other people's
> experiences with these covers.

Aerocovers has good prices and outstanding service -- they have lots
of customers in Canada and the U.S.:

http://www.aerocovers.com/


All the best,


David

[Michelle P]

Reid & Julie,

I have had very good luck with Kennon. They were prompt and responsive
when I had a problem.

Suggestion for improvement and customization were incorporated into my
cover.

They are always trying to improve the product.

Michelle

Reid & Julie Baldwin wrote:

>I just became the new owner of a Piper PA-16 Clipper. I hope to get
>it into a hangar. However, I may need to park it outside for awhile in the
>meantime. I looked up airplane covers on the internet and found several
>brands: Bruce's Custom Covers, Kennon Aircraft Covers, Cunningham
>Aircraft Covers, etc. I am interested in finding out about other people's
>experiences with these covers.
>
>Are some brands better than others?
>
>What features should I look for?
>
>
>
>
>

--

Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P

"Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike)

Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic

Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity

[G.R. Patterson III]

Reid & Julie Baldwin wrote:
>
> I am interested in finding out about other people's experiences with these
> covers.

I had Kennon covers on my Cessna 150 for about 5 years. They were still in good
shape when I sold the plane. I bought Kennon covers for my Maule when I got it
in 1995. I had to replace the bungee cords once, some of the velcro is shot,
and the stitching is giving out. With winter coming on, I need to pick up a new
set. Looks like it'll be Kennon again.

In my experience, Bruce's is a bit higher. They also don't make the cowl-cap
type of nose cover that I prefer. I did buy a set of cowl plugs from Bruce back
in '95, but the little flags were beating up the paint on my cowl, so I cut
them off. Not too long after that, I tried to start the plane with the plugs in.
That was pretty spectacular. One plug was thrown over 100' - we never did find
it.

I also agree with Michelle's comments. Kennon fixes problems, even when you're
the one that made the mistake.

George Patterson
If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money prolonging
the problem.

[Ron Natalie]

"Reid & Julie Baldwin" > wrote in message ...
> I just became the new owner of a Piper PA-16 Clipper. I hope to get
> it into a hangar. However, I may need to park it outside for awhile in the
> meantime. I looked up airplane covers on the internet and found several
> brands: Bruce's Custom Covers, Kennon Aircraft Covers, Cunningham
> Aircraft Covers, etc. I am interested in finding out about other people's
> experiences with these covers.

I have a Kennon canopy cover. They did a good job. It's a heavy canvas
with a special lining over the windows. Bruces (and some of the others) are
sort of a lighter material.

[Ron Natalie]

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message ...

> I had Kennon covers on my Cessna 150 for about 5 years. They were still in good
> shape when I sold the plane. I bought Kennon covers for my Maule when I got it
> in 1995. I had to replace the bungee cords once, some of the velcro is shot,
> and the stitching is giving out. With winter coming on, I need to pick up a new
> set. Looks like it'll be Kennon again.

We've replaced the bungee on ours as well (we just went down to the local boat
shop and got some equivelent shock cord).

[Bob Chilcoat]

There is a guy at Stroudsberg (PA) airport (N35) who makes custom covers.
We just had him replace the cockpit cover on our Archer. Cost $185.50. You
make an appointment, fly in, and he makes the cover on the spot. This is
the third one that's been on the plane. The last one was good for five
years. He calls himself Airborne Aircraft Upholstery. I don't know if he
does wing covers, but I suspect he will if you ask him.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Reid & Julie Baldwin wrote:
> >
> > I am interested in finding out about other people's experiences with
these
> > covers.
>
> I had Kennon covers on my Cessna 150 for about 5 years. They were still in
good
> shape when I sold the plane. I bought Kennon covers for my Maule when I
got it
> in 1995. I had to replace the bungee cords once, some of the velcro is
shot,
> and the stitching is giving out. With winter coming on, I need to pick up
a new
> set. Looks like it'll be Kennon again.
>
> In my experience, Bruce's is a bit higher. They also don't make the
cowl-cap
> type of nose cover that I prefer. I did buy a set of cowl plugs from Bruce
back
> in '95, but the little flags were beating up the paint on my cowl, so I
cut
> them off. Not too long after that, I tried to start the plane with the
plugs in.
> That was pretty spectacular. One plug was thrown over 100' - we never did
find
> it.
>
> I also agree with Michelle's comments. Kennon fixes problems, even when
you're
> the one that made the mistake.
>
> George Patterson
> If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money
prolonging
> the problem.

[Margy Natalie]

Our Kennon cover also has the stiching giving out, but I'm not going to replace it
as the fabric is still quite good. Kennon offers a repair/refurbish program which
I'll get around to doing sooner or later.

Margy

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote:

> Reid & Julie Baldwin wrote:
> >
> > I am interested in finding out about other people's experiences with these
> > covers.
>
> I had Kennon covers on my Cessna 150 for about 5 years. They were still in good
> shape when I sold the plane. I bought Kennon covers for my Maule when I got it
> in 1995. I had to replace the bungee cords once, some of the velcro is shot,
> and the stitching is giving out. With winter coming on, I need to pick up a new
> set. Looks like it'll be Kennon again.
>
> In my experience, Bruce's is a bit higher. They also don't make the cowl-cap
> type of nose cover that I prefer. I did buy a set of cowl plugs from Bruce back
> in '95, but the little flags were beating up the paint on my cowl, so I cut
> them off. Not too long after that, I tried to start the plane with the plugs in.
> That was pretty spectacular. One plug was thrown over 100' - we never did find
> it.
>
> I also agree with Michelle's comments. Kennon fixes problems, even when you're
> the one that made the mistake.
>
> George Patterson
> If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money prolonging
> the problem.

[Flynn]

I've got Bruce's extended canopy and wing covers. Good fit and definitely
do the job.
We're pleased with them.

--
Patrick Flynn
Sammamish, WA
Cirrus SR22 N6099Z KRNT

"Reid & Julie Baldwin" > wrote in message
...
> I just became the new owner of a Piper PA-16 Clipper. I hope to get
> it into a hangar. However, I may need to park it outside for awhile in the
> meantime. I looked up airplane covers on the internet and found several
> brands: Bruce's Custom Covers, Kennon Aircraft Covers, Cunningham
> Aircraft Covers, etc. I am interested in finding out about other people's
> experiences with these covers.
>
> Are some brands better than others?
>
> What features should I look for?
>
>
>

[Ron Wanttaja]

I've got a Cunningham cockpit cover (custom made for my homebuilt) and am
pleased with it.

Ron Wanttaja

[Tony Roberts]

> Aerocovers has good prices and outstanding service -- they have lots
> of customers in Canada and the U.S.:

Aerocovers are exceptional:

I got a great price
My covers are very high quality
They were made and shipped in one week,
The price was good,
They only charged me $15.00 shipping for everything.

I highly recommend them

--
Tony Roberts )
PP-ASEL
VFR-OTT - Night
Cessna 172H

[Henry and Debbie McFarland]

We've had Bruce's Covers for three airplanes now. I like them because I can
put them on by myself in the wind.

Deb

--
1946 Luscombe 8A (His)
1948 Luscombe 8E (Hers)
1954 Cessna 195B, restoring (Ours)
Jasper, Ga. (JZP)

"Flynn" > wrote in message
news:GEDsb.186680$Fm2.172348@attbi_s04...
> I've got Bruce's extended canopy and wing covers. Good fit and definitely
> do the job.
> We're pleased with them.
>
> --
> Patrick Flynn
> Sammamish, WA
> Cirrus SR22 N6099Z KRNT
>

[Ron Natalie]

"Henry and Debbie McFarland" > wrote in message
hlink.net...
> We've had Bruce's Covers for three airplanes now. I like them because I can
> put them on by myself in the wind.
>
Don't have any problems putting the Kennon on myself (well, on the plane without
assistance I mean).

[G.R. Patterson III]

Margy Natalie wrote:
>
> Our Kennon cover also has the stiching giving out, but I'm not going to replace it
> as the fabric is still quite good. Kennon offers a repair/refurbish program which
> I'll get around to doing sooner or later.

Yeah, I thought about that, but I saw the text on their site about using the
local laundry to clean the stuff first and how they aren't responsible for
damage caused by the laundry. Then I saw a notice on a competitor's site about
the number of people who's covers got trashed in the laundry (IMO, obviously
talking about Kennon), so I have reservations about that program.

George Patterson
If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money prolonging
the problem.

[Henry and Debbie McFarland]

Our C-172 came with a cover that had these straps that went over the wings
and hooked onto the flaps. I hated those things! In a little wind I couldn't
get the straps over the wing. I can't remember the manufacturer of that
particular cover. We ordered a Bruce's which has straps only on the bottom
and Velcro every where else. A big improvement!

We've had covers made for both Luscombes. The Luscombes have skylights that
must be covered. Bruce's style makes these easy to put on (for a vertically
challenged individual like myself). My husband seldom uses his. He gets the
hangar :-(.

Deb

--
1946 Luscombe 8A (His)
1948 Luscombe 8E (Hers)
1954 Cessna 195B, restoring (Ours)
Jasper, Ga. (JZP)


"Ron Natalie" > wrote in message
m...
>
> "Henry and Debbie McFarland" > wrote in message
> hlink.net...
> > We've had Bruce's Covers for three airplanes now. I like them because I
can
> > put them on by myself in the wind.
> >
> Don't have any problems putting the Kennon on myself (well, on the plane
without
> assistance I mean).
>
>
>

[Mike Z.]

The 'canvas' needs special care. No big thing.

You can do it at home. Here are the instructions for caring for Sunbrella.

http://www.sunbrella.com/usa/carecleaning.shtml

Mike Z.

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message ...
>
> Yeah, I thought about that, but I saw the text on their site about using the
> local laundry to clean the stuff first and how they aren't responsible for
> damage caused by the laundry. Then I saw a notice on a competitor's site about
> the number of people who's covers got trashed in the laundry (IMO, obviously
> talking about Kennon), so I have reservations about that program.
>
> George Patterson
> If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money prolonging
> the problem.

[Ron Natalie]

"Mike Z." > wrote in message k.net...
> The 'canvas' needs special care. No big thing.
>
> You can do it at home. Here are the instructions for caring for Sunbrella.
>
> http://www.sunbrella.com/usa/carecleaning.shtml
>
It's not so much the sumbrella that is the problem, but the various stitching and
trim that doesn't seem to hold up.

[PaulaJay1]

In article >, "Ron Natalie"
> writes:

>It's not so much the sumbrella that is the problem, but the various stitching
>and
>trim that doesn't seem to hold up.

We took our Sumbrella Bimini to the local canvas shop and had it restitched
(just put another row of stitches over the old ones) after about 10 years

Chuck

[Mike Z.]

Well you got me there. I agree the stitching seems to go first. I would assume there are different grades of thread but darned if I
know how to tell who is using what and I wouldn't know the good stuff if it bit me anyway!

Mike

"Ron Natalie" > wrote in message m...
>
> It's not so much the sumbrella that is the problem, but the various stitching and
> trim that doesn't seem to hold up.
>
>

[G.R. Patterson III]

PaulaJay1 wrote:
>
> We took our Sumbrella Bimini to the local canvas shop and had it restitched
> (just put another row of stitches over the old ones) after about 10 years

Really! Ten years, eh? Good to know.

George Patterson
If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money prolonging
the problem.