Covers what to buy?

At 05:55 30 April 2015, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Anyone have experience with the covers made in China?


My first choice would be Vertigo as well but I needed lighter duty
covers for occasional summer use only so I bought Kerry Covers
from China for my Ventus. They are cheap and I was worried that
Kerry Covers would not accept credit card payments. I had to pay
by wire transfer. There is no come back if anything goes wrong.

In actual fact, the service was nothing short of impressive! I
ordered them on a Monday and they were delivered directly from
China to the UK on the Thursday of the same week. My covers for
my 17.6 m Ventus cT cost around US$660 as I recall including
shipping. The covers themselves look very much like Jaxidas. I have
used them for a little over a year now and so far so good.

There are a few issues with import duty and obviously this will vary
from country to country. A large part of the cost is for shipping
anyway. A friend at Lasham was travelling on business in China and
was able to collect a set for his Nimbus 4 directly. This saved a lot
of money. He is not that impressed with the quality but he keeps
the Nimbus rigged for most of the time.

Previously, I had a Duo and had Vertigo covers for that. These were
the Rolls Royce of covers and are still in daily use with the new
owners. Still going strong after around seven years. You get what
you pay for. If you want lightweight cheap covers, then Kerry
Covers would do. If you want the best, the it has to be Vertigo.

Hope this helps.

I've got a set of the Kerry Covers for an ASW-27 that I'm selling. They are almost new so it's too soon to tell how well they will hold up. That said they look well made and fit great. The last glider I sold had Jaxida covers that like many above said had turned into a disintegrating brown powdery mess.

I have owned 2 sets of the "China" (Kerry) covers and they are excellent. One set was for for a Lak17a (both 15/18 w/ winglets, purchased in 2013) which I have since passed on to my dad. I also purchased another set for an ASG29 (also 15/18 w/ winglets, purchased in 2014). I find them to be equal (or greater to be honest) in quality to the Jaxidia. I actually have a lot of experience with sail making, cover making, etc. That said, it is amazing to me that the Kerry covers cost around $600 vs. $3500-$4000 for virtually identical Jaxidia! It's a no brainer. I owned a pair of relatively new Jaxidia covers which came with the purchase of my 2001 Lak17a. These Jaxidia covers were purchased by the previous owner in roughly 2006-7 I believe. I was disappointed with them (albeit 2-3 years old) because by the time I got to try them the outer material had turned very brown. In fact other glider pilots asked me what was wrong with them. In the months and years that followed, this browned outer material coating actually began to rapidly break down. It began flaking off and desintegrating into an annoying dusty debris that got all over anything it touched (car, hangar and especially the glider). Each time I used the covers I spent more time cleaning the "Jaxidia cover disintegration dust" off the glider than putting them on or taking them off. It was extremely annoying as the dust would often get wet in the morning dew and dry onto the wing or fuselage surface. This was quite difficult to remove. I spend alot of time removing this flakyness from the covers in an effort to stop the problem. They still worked and are "dew"proof, but for 3-4k it was clear that the material was defective and they should have been replaced by the manufacturer. Jaxidia was not willing to entertain that request. Ultimately, this is why I bought the Chinese brand and they have been excellent over the past several years. I figured that even if they only lasted a few years they would be more than worth it compared to Jaxidia. After a few years it is clear that they will last many years! My only complaints with the Chinese Kerry covers (Jaxidia copies) are regarding the extremely cheap bag they are supplied with which has the worlds worst zipper and very poor clips that are supplied with the covers. These clips are cheap and easy to replace at any local hardware store. I have since had my dad build a new, slightly larger bag for both our cover sets that should make it easier to stuff the covers into.

I hope this helps,

7T

On Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 3:17:08 PM UTC-6, wrote:
I am looking at purchasing covers for an 18 meter glider. Last glider I had Jaxida (spelling covers). I would use these covers when say flying out of Minded or in Utah for a week soaring vacation and did not want to disassemble every night.

Which covers to buy? Any useful comments welcomed.

Thanks

Have Kerry covers. Went to the Kerry cover website and sent them an email. They sent a invoice which I took to my bank for a wire transfer. No problems. Had the covers in 3 days!
Slight assemble was required. The bungee cord has to be cut and clips slipped on(they provide cord and clips). Very easy to do. Just requires a short amount of time after you put the covers on for the first time.
For short overnight tie downs, they are very good. I might add that the time to put them on and off is about equal to derig and rerig in the morning. Only time and money saved is the "taping", but when its in the box overnight is really what I find as being preferred. Others told me this, I didn't listen and now have a set of covers which I will use as a rare maybe.
Others I know are using Kerry covers, they are "pleased", which you can also purchase from several vendors in the USA, if you don't want to do a wire transfer yourself.

Best.#711.

Tom,

I would say that putting the covers on takes same amount of time as efficient "deriggers" but in the morning I am find that I am ready to tow out in just a few minutes which is great (especially in dry climates). Getting the dew off is a potential issue requiring a squeegee and some patience to let the remaining moisture evaporate before fully taking the covers off (20 minutes). Covers also make it easy to put water in the glider during this evaporation wait. So in general I agree that covers are not a big "time" saver but they do allow me to avoid the process (some find this stressful) of rigging and deriggingnand and taping which is really nice on pleasant lazy evenings. And my experience in the mornings has been the best part of owning covers. Zero stress!

On Thursday, April 30, 2015 at 5:44:44 PM UTC-4, Sean Fidler wrote:
Tom,

I would say that putting the covers on takes same amount of time as efficient "deriggers" but in the morning I am find that I am ready to tow out in just a few minutes which is great (especially in dry climates). Getting the dew off is a potential issue requiring a squeegee and some patience to let the remaining moisture evaporate before fully taking the covers off (20 minutes). Covers also make it easy to put water in the glider during this evaporation wait. So in general I agree that covers are not a big "time" saver but they do allow me to avoid the process (some find this stressful) of rigging and deriggingnand and taping which is really nice on pleasant lazy evenings. And my experience in the mornings has been the best part of owning covers. Zero stress!

I would only add that you can water up before water pressure goes down... .

I just wanted to add to this conversation for future pilots researching covers. You don't need to mail order to China for Kerry covers. I bought mine from Northeast Sailplane in Ohio. (Might not be in business as I can't a website now??)
Secondly, tonight I just did a UV test on the material. I had recently cut out a section to install a clear vinyl window over my solar panel. I placed the removed material over my UV mineral lamp and moved it right next to a mineral that flouresces brilliant green under UV. It remained totally dark, even testing in a dark room! So these covers really do protect your finish from UV light. I am very happy with these covers. They seem to be totally waterproof too, yet breathable via bottom side mesh. Well thought out. And way less $$ than Jaxida.

I bought mine from Northeast Sailplane in Ohio.
CORRECTION: That should be Eastern Sailplane (John Murry, who I see is retiring announced June 8.)