The latest glider covers?

[Laurie Harden]

I have a set of aging Jaxeda covers for my 1998 classic Duo Discus that will be ready to replace soon. Can anyone advise me about any developments in the glider cover market? This ship is based in Minden, NV--hot, dry, windy.

Thanks!

[Mark Mocho]

I purchased a set of Kerry Covers (from China) late last year for my Pegasus. The "Outdoor" set cost $700 including shipping. Delivery took about three weeks. (Dust covers are $450). Overall, I am pleased with the quality and workmanship, but the wing covers are a little tight. Another Pegasus owner at Moriarty also has a set and they seem to have a looser fit, but mine work OK. The rest of the set (elevator, rudder, fuselage and nose) all fit well, velcro together nicely,. have zippers where needed and plenty of loops sewn in for bungee hooks. The bungee cord is provided, although the hooks don't hold the cord well. I purchased some other hooks that allow for knots instead of the tension grip on the cord. Storage bags are included, along with straps that run through the wing covers when they are removed and bundled to keep them from getting tangled or twisted. The fabric appears to be plenty durable, has soft padding inside and the lower wing and elevator surfaces have breathable fabric. Port (red, left) and starboard (green, right) wing covers have colored indicator flags sewn on the lower surface. Kerry apparently has patterns for many gliders.

Since my glider primarily resides in my hangar and the covers are not exposed to the elements (also hot, dry and windy at Moriarty), I can't vouch for their longevity in those conditions. The dust covers would probably have worked for me, but the difference in price wasn't enough to make me go the cheap route. Surely there are other owners who use these outdoors and can give more info on their suitability and life expectancy. http://www.kerry-cover.com/

[2G]

On Monday, March 22, 2021 at 12:52:40 PM UTC-7, Mark Mocho wrote:
> I purchased a set of Kerry Covers (from China) late last year for my Pegasus. The "Outdoor" set cost $700 including shipping. Delivery took about three weeks. (Dust covers are $450). Overall, I am pleased with the quality and workmanship, but the wing covers are a little tight. Another Pegasus owner at Moriarty also has a set and they seem to have a looser fit, but mine work OK. The rest of the set (elevator, rudder, fuselage and nose) all fit well, velcro together nicely,. have zippers where needed and plenty of loops sewn in for bungee hooks. The bungee cord is provided, although the hooks don't hold the cord well. I purchased some other hooks that allow for knots instead of the tension grip on the cord. Storage bags are included, along with straps that run through the wing covers when they are removed and bundled to keep them from getting tangled or twisted. The fabric appears to be plenty durable, has soft padding inside and the lower wing and elevator surfaces have breathable fabric. Port (red, left) and starboard (green, right) wing covers have colored indicator flags sewn on the lower surface. Kerry apparently has patterns for many gliders.
>
> Since my glider primarily resides in my hangar and the covers are not exposed to the elements (also hot, dry and windy at Moriarty), I can't vouch for their longevity in those conditions. The dust covers would probably have worked for me, but the difference in price wasn't enough to make me go the cheap route. Surely there are other owners who use these outdoors and can give more info on their suitability and life expectancy. http://www.kerry-cover.com/

The best glider covers available today, IMO, are Cloud Dancers:
https://clouddancers.de/en/overview-covers/
They are definitely not the cheapest, but the material and construction is first rate. I have had mine for 3 seasons now, and the glider is covered about 3 months each season. The fit is great because they have actual gliders to fit them to.

Tom

[krasw]

On Monday, 22 March 2021 at 21:52:40 UTC+2, Mark Mocho wrote:
> The dust covers would probably have worked for me, but the difference in price wasn't enough to make me go the cheap route.

Dust covers have totally different use than outdoor ones, it's apples and oranges. Outdoor covers in hangared glider is just awful idea for everyday use (first hand experience). If I would replace my dust covers, I would happily pay MORE for them than for a set of outdoor covers.

[Mark Mocho]

.. Outdoor covers in hangared glider is just awful idea for everyday use

True, but I only put the full cover set on if I don't plan on flying for an extended period. Definitely too much trouble for everyday use, but it's easy to just slip on the wing and tail covers for a quick overnighter if the wind is blowing a lot of dust around.

[AS]

On Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at 3:43:43 AM UTC-4, krasw wrote:
Outdoor covers in hangared glider is just awful idea for everyday use (first hand experience).

You haven't seen the hangar our gliders are in. It sometimes rains harder inside of it than outside! We keep the outdoor covers on at all times!

Uli
'AS'

[Martin Gregorie[_6_]]

On Mon, 22 Mar 2021 22:43:14 -0700, 2G wrote:

> The best glider covers available today, IMO, are Cloud Dancers:
> https://clouddancers.de/en/overview-covers/
> They are definitely not the cheapest, but the material and construction
> is first rate. I have had mine for 3 seasons now, and the glider is
> covered about 3 months each season. The fit is great because they have
> actual gliders to fit them to.
>
Also Clouddancers are very nice, helpful folk to deal with.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

[Eric Greenwell[_4_]]

krasw wrote on 3/23/2021 12:43 AM:
> On Monday, 22 March 2021 at 21:52:40 UTC+2, Mark Mocho wrote:
>> The dust covers would probably have worked for me, but the difference in price wasn't enough to make me go the cheap route.
>
> Dust covers have totally different use than outdoor ones, it's apples and oranges. Outdoor covers in hangared glider is just awful idea for everyday use (first hand experience). If I would replace my dust covers, I would happily pay MORE for them than for a set of outdoor covers.
>
What, specifically is "just awful" about using outdoor covers in a hangar? Will harm come to
the glider?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1

[Mark Mocho]

> What, specifically is "just awful" about using outdoor covers in a hangar? Will harm come to
> the glider?

The "awful" part is, as usual, disagreeing with certain opinions on RAS.

[soaringjac]

On Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at 6:12:41 AM UTC-7, Mark Mocho wrote:
> > What, specifically is "just awful" about using outdoor covers in a hangar? Will harm come to
> > the glider?
> The "awful" part is, as usual, disagreeing with certain opinions on RAS.

I have a set of what I think are Kerry Covers on my ship. They came with the glider when I bought it. I think they were first bought about 5-6 years ago and have been used on the glider everyday ever since (The glider is tied out all year). Conditions are Mojave Desert so lots of sunlight, heat, cold, wind, you name it. They are still in great shape! However, the little plastic tabs used for bungie attachment points are getting brittle and starting to crack. Every time I touch the covers I get covered in white dust so they are starting to deteriorate a little. They are also a little tight of a fit. Other than that they are great and still in great overall shape and could probably still be used for a few more years. That said, I have a order placed for some clouddancers to replace them.

[krasw]

On Tuesday, 23 March 2021 at 14:53:54 UTC+2, Eric Greenwell wrote:
> What, specifically is "just awful" about using outdoor covers in a hangar? Will harm come to
> the glider?
>

Well I was quite obviously referring to lengthy and painful (for someone with my agility) process of putting them on the glider, compared to light dust covers. Or what did you thought I meant? You can use what ever adjective you feel appropriate in place of awful, but I doubt it is a very positive one.

And Mark yes, I have opinions. This is a discussion group. We will present opinions and argue for and against them. This is how ras works. You may disregard some opinions or posters all together as you wish.

[gregv]

My glider sleeps outside from march to september since 2006. I just received the third set of cloud dancer covers. They fit great, they are 100% water and sun proof. After 5-7 years they tend to get burned by the UV and they become more prone to tearing (and they produce white dust like soaringjac said), so you have to be more carefull when putting them on.

[Eric Greenwell[_4_]]

krasw wrote on 3/24/2021 1:00 AM:
> On Tuesday, 23 March 2021 at 14:53:54 UTC+2, Eric Greenwell wrote:
>> What, specifically is "just awful" about using outdoor covers in a hangar? Will harm come to
>> the glider?
>>
>
> Well I was quite obviously referring to lengthy and painful (for someone with my agility) process of putting them on the glider, compared to light dust covers. Or what did you thought I meant? You can use what ever adjective you feel appropriate in place of awful, but I doubt it is a very positive one.
>
> And Mark yes, I have opinions. This is a discussion group. We will present opinions and argue for and against them. This is how ras works. You may disregard some opinions or posters all together as you wish.
>
It seemed like such a strong statement, I wondered if there was a more serious concern than the
difficulty of putting on the covers, like hangar mice burrowing into them to get nest material.
I do agree my light-weight covers are much easier to handle and store than my friend's Cloud
Dancer covers!

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1

[John Galloway[_2_]]

On Wednesday, 24 March 2021 at 13:51:53 UTC, Eric Greenwell wrote:
> krasw wrote on 3/24/2021 1:00 AM:
> > On Tuesday, 23 March 2021 at 14:53:54 UTC+2, Eric Greenwell wrote:
> >> What, specifically is "just awful" about using outdoor covers in a hangar? Will harm come to
> >> the glider?
> >>
> >
> > Well I was quite obviously referring to lengthy and painful (for someone with my agility) process of putting them on the glider, compared to light dust covers. Or what did you thought I meant? You can use what ever adjective you feel appropriate in place of awful, but I doubt it is a very positive one.
> >
> > And Mark yes, I have opinions. This is a discussion group. We will present opinions and argue for and against them. This is how ras works. You may disregard some opinions or posters all together as you wish.
> >
> It seemed like such a strong statement, I wondered if there was a more serious concern than the
> difficulty of putting on the covers, like hangar mice burrowing into them to get nest material.
> I do agree my light-weight covers are much easier to handle and store than my friend's Cloud
> Dancer covers!
> --
> Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
> - "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
> https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1

For a place like MInden I would buy Vertigo covers without any hesitation. Jaxidas, Cloud Dancers and Kerry covers etc all have the plasticky finish and if that decays through UV exposure and goes powdery the protection is greatly diminished. Vertigo covers have a very fine weave finish that looks like it can't possibly be waterproof but in fact is totally waterproof and very UV protective. They don't seem to decay over many years outdoors and if they do they can be re-proofed. The fit, finish and customer service is excellent.

As it happens I have chosen CloudDancer Uncutables for my current glider and they are of excellent quality of fit and fabrication. The only reason I didn't get another set of Vertigos was because of the particular circumstance that when that glider was sent to South Africa over 3 UK winters and left outdoors the red iron containing ultra fine dust that got on the covers and then got rained on left unsightly stains on the covers. The performance wasn't affected and other Vertigo owners parked in the same place didn't have the same issue - I have no idea why. Vertigo cleaned them and re-proofed them and they were as good as new.

[2G]

On Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 1:00:41 AM UTC-7, krasw wrote:
> On Tuesday, 23 March 2021 at 14:53:54 UTC+2, Eric Greenwell wrote:
> > What, specifically is "just awful" about using outdoor covers in a hangar? Will harm come to
> > the glider?
> >
> Well I was quite obviously referring to lengthy and painful (for someone with my agility) process of putting them on the glider, compared to light dust covers. Or what did you thought I meant? You can use what ever adjective you feel appropriate in place of awful, but I doubt it is a very positive one.
>
> And Mark yes, I have opinions. This is a discussion group. We will present opinions and argue for and against them. This is how ras works. You may disregard some opinions or posters all together as you wish.

The process of putting on and removing the covers can go quite fast if you have developed the proper technique. First, I use 2 wing stands (it can be done w/o the stands, but they make it easier). I also have spoiler box tiedowns. I leave one wing tied down and disconnect the other. I undo all bungee cords and Velcro fasteners. At the end of the 2nd wing I pull the cover towards the tip after removing the winglet cover. With the cover bunched up at the end of the wing (keeping the 1st wing tied down prevents the 2nd tip from dropping) I thread a cord thru the entire cover and tie it. I lift the bunched and tied cover off of the wing and put the wing stand under the wing. I untie the 1st wing and put the wing stand at the tip (to keep the tip from dropping) and repeat the process. I have spent about 5 min to this point. The remaining covers are then removed and stored, taking a total of 10 min.
Putting the covers on is this process in reverse, except I don't tie the wings down until both covers are on. Bunching the covers and using the cord is the trick to doing this quickly. I also reach thru the bunch to put my hand on the winglet while putting them on (this keeps the winglet from stabbing the covers).

Tom