john smith wrote in message .. .
One theory is to not go more than ten years without recovering.
The theory being that after that much time exposed to the elements, you
would want to strip everything off to thoroughly inspect the airframe
for corrosion.

dave wrote:
My citabria was covered ten years ago with ceconite. The fabric is
perfect. The white paint is okay, the red has faded. It's now
hangered so I expect to get a lot more life out of it. Most people
I've spoke to prior to buying my plane said twenty years for a well done
fabric job that's taken care of. I've seen nearly new american
champion citabrias with cracked paint. A friend has a piper colt that
was covered with ceconite 25 years ago but always hangered. It's like new.

You really have to get it checked by an A&P that works on fabric airplanes.

Dave
68 7ECA

I'm far from an expert on this, but I'll add a couple of things I've
heard, plus second what Dave said w.r.t. checking with an A&P that
does fabric work.

Ceconite uses non-tautening Butrate dope (not quite the same stuff
that is
used with cotton). Over time the plasticizer will leach out, resulting
in the
dope getting brittle and starting to crack. This can be remedied by
using a
"dope rejuvenator", if done soon enough. The only thing that damages
the fabric,
(short of hail or fire) is UV light. The silver dope protects it, but
cracks in
the dope can let the UV through.

Most fabric covered aircraft were designed when Cotton was the best
covering
available, and it lasted 10 years, at most. As such, the engineers
assumed the
underlying structure would be examined/repaired at least every 10
years. Some
aircraft now have a lot more inspection holes in the wing fabric than
they
would have had when they left the factory, to try and inspect the
internal
structure. Whether the internal structure is wood or metal is also a
consideration. (Inspecting wood with a flashlight and mirror on a
stick is
a specialized skill that not all A&Ps will have.)

Just what I've been told, rick