Fabric covering

What are the choices out there?
What are the pros and cons of each?
What is your recommendation?
Which are easier for the applicator?
Cost comparisons?

I hope to get some responses, I'll also check the archive while I wait
for the responses.

Thanks to all who respond.

Wil

Some choices:
Ceconite, Stits, Grade A cotton, razorback (fiberglass) and Randolph.

Stits is pretty easy and they have demonstrations at Oshkosh.
Randolph, I believe, has a water-based system.
Grade A cotton...was used on the old ships such as the Cessna 140,
Taylorcraft, etc., so no STC required, but STCs are probably available
for any modern system such as Stits, etc, so probably not the best
choice as it doesn't have the lifetime like the synthetics such as Stits
and Ceconite. (Of course, the STC would only be required for a
certified plane)...Razorback...probably quite durable, but I would
suspect heavy...

Scott



William Hung wrote:
What are the choices out there?
What are the pros and cons of each?
What is your recommendation?
Which are easier for the applicator?
Cost comparisons?

I hope to get some responses, I'll also check the archive while I wait
for the responses.

Thanks to all who respond.

Wil

--
Scott
http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/
Gotta Fly or Gonna Die
Building RV-4 (Super Slow Build Version)

"Scott" wrote in message
.. .
...
Grade A cotton...was used on the old ships such as the Cessna 140,
Taylorcraft, etc., so no STC required, but STCs are probably available for
any modern system such as Stits, etc, so probably not the best choice as it
doesn't have the lifetime like the synthetics
...
I used to have some fabric samples lying around from an old glider than had
spent years and years sitting outside in Texas...

The Cotton would crumble if you weren't careful how you handled it. The
Dacron still seemed to be just fine...

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

Scott wrote:

William Hung wrote:

What are the choices out there?
What are the pros and cons of each?
What is your recommendation?
Which are easier for the applicator?
Cost comparisons?

I hope to get some responses, I'll also check the archive while I wait
for the responses.

Thanks to all who respond.

Wil


Some choices:
Ceconite, Stits, Grade A cotton, razorback (fiberglass) and Randolph.

Stits is pretty easy and they have demonstrations at Oshkosh.
Randolph, I believe, has a water-based system.
Grade A cotton...was used on the old ships such as the Cessna 140,
Taylorcraft, etc., so no STC required, but STCs are probably available
for any modern system such as Stits, etc, so probably not the best
choice as it doesn't have the lifetime like the synthetics such as Stits
and Ceconite. (Of course, the STC would only be required for a
certified plane)...Razorback...probably quite durable, but I would
suspect heavy...

Scott



I haven't heard of a water based system from Randolph.
But they do have a traditional nitrate/buteyrate dope system
http://www.randolphaircraft.com/

Ins't Blue River a water based system?
http://www.bluerivercoatings.com/faq.htm

Not sure. I do remember ONE of the systems out there to be water-based.
You could be right! I pulled Randolph out of my a$$ as I forgot about
Blue River...

Scott


cavalamb himself wrote:




I haven't heard of a water based system from Randolph.
But they do have a traditional nitrate/buteyrate dope system
http://www.randolphaircraft.com/

Ins't Blue River a water based system?
http://www.bluerivercoatings.com/faq.htm

--
Scott
http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/
Gotta Fly or Gonna Die
Building RV-4 (Super Slow Build Version)

cavalamb himself wrote:

I haven't heard of a water based system from Randolph.
But they do have a traditional nitrate/buteyrate dope system
http://www.randolphaircraft.com/

Ins't Blue River a water based system?
http://www.bluerivercoatings.com/faq.htm

Blue River doesn't make aircraft finishes anymore. It was a
terrible product. My uncle used it on a Champ, and the airplane ended
up way overweight and the fabric would stretch and sag on cool, damp
days. Apparently this was all too common.
And I am, at the moment, recovering a Citabria that had the Blue
River stuff on it. The finish was cracking and peeling something
awful, the tapes were lifting, and the airplane was overweight. The
fabric and finish were only ten years old. There's no way at all I
would ever use any water-based system until I've seen it work very
well on other people's airplanes and survive the weather for some
time. I've seen and heard of too many wasted cover jobs.
Stits is now known as Poly-Fiber. It's also owned by the same
people who own Randolph. Go to http://www.conaircraft.com/
Be careful. When you buy an STC'd covering system to use on a
certified airplane, you must use the entire system to stay legal.
Can't, for instance, put Imron topcoat over Poly-Fiber fabric and base
cover coats. Of course, a homebuilder can do anything he wants, but
some folks have been disappointed at the results when mixed systems
don't work well together. And some, like Steve Wittman, have had
catastrophic failures in flight.
Dan

On Feb 9, 1:17*pm, cavalamb himself wrote:
I haven't heard of a water based system from Randolph.
But they do have a traditional nitrate/buteyrate dope systemhttp://www.randolphaircraft.com/

Ins't Blue River a water based system?http://www.bluerivercoatings.com/faq..htm- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hey Richard didn't you do stits poly fiber on your TP? About what did
that cost?

wrote:

On Feb 9, 1:17 pm, cavalamb himself wrote:

I haven't heard of a water based system from Randolph.
But they do have a traditional nitrate/buteyrate dope systemhttp://www.randolphaircraft.com/

Ins't Blue River a water based system?http://www.bluerivercoatings.com/faq.htm- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Hey Richard didn't you do stits poly fiber on your TP? About what did
that cost?


More than I'll admit.
Weighed more too.

But it sure looks nice

In article
,
wrote:

cavalamb himself wrote:

I haven't heard of a water based system from Randolph.
But they do have a traditional nitrate/buteyrate dope system
http://www.randolphaircraft.com/

Ins't Blue River a water based system?
http://www.bluerivercoatings.com/faq.htm

Blue River doesn't make aircraft finishes anymore. It was a
terrible product. My uncle used it on a Champ, and the airplane ended
up way overweight and the fabric would stretch and sag on cool, damp
days. Apparently this was all too common.
And I am, at the moment, recovering a Citabria that had the Blue
River stuff on it. The finish was cracking and peeling something
awful, the tapes were lifting, and the airplane was overweight. The
fabric and finish were only ten years old. There's no way at all I
would ever use any water-based system until I've seen it work very
well on other people's airplanes and survive the weather for some
time. I've seen and heard of too many wasted cover jobs.
Stits is now known as Poly-Fiber. It's also owned by the same
people who own Randolph. Go to http://www.conaircraft.com/

I bumped into Ray Stits a couple weeks ago, and spent about 15 minutes
talking with him before I figured out who he was.

He appears to still be involved with aircraft covering systems and
supporting products.

Hey Richard didn't you do stits poly fiber on your TP? About what did
that cost?

More than I'll admit.
Weighed more too.

But it sure looks nice

Do you guys post when you do TP get-togethers at Zuehl?

AUS isn't far away, I'd like to show up sometime to check them out,
take some pictures of one or even two, talk about building them. If I
could just get my flying club to let me land down there ...