Recovering a fabric aircraft

[planesmaker]

Paint and coatings are light after solvents evapourate. What it weighs in the can is no indication of weight of finished product.

 

 

[planesmaker]

As I said 6.5kg of fabric including coatings and paint from the entire skyfox airframe( wings, fuselage, tail). Quite light don't you think?

 

 

[djpacro]

The Poly-Fiber Manual gives detailed estimates for a variety of aircraft, the J-3 for example: 10 gals of poly-brush, 11 gals of poly-spray, 6 gals reducer etc. Total weight of the fabric and coating system using 1.7 oz poly-fiber was 33 lb = 15 kg.

 

They go on to mention a reduced-coat (refer the cautions re UV etc) ultralight (their example is about 2/3 the size of a J-3) system which would total about 12 lb or 5.5 kg.

 

By comparison the original J-3 in cotton and dope was 75 lb. In 2.6 oz Poly-Fiber it is 43 lb.

 

 

[old man emu]

I watch one of the shows in the 'Aircraft Restoration" series on Foxtel. It was about a bloke in England who built himself a replica Fokker Dr1 (Triplane). He used Oratex.

 

What interested me was that he did the rib stitching before he did the heat shrinking. I can only surmise that by doing it in that order, the covering is not likely to tear at the needle holes. Of course he applied pinked tape (also Oratex) over the rib stitching as one would do if using Ceconite et al. He used a small iron which look to be the same type used by scale modellers when applying a similar type of heat shrunk covering to their aircraft.

 

I posted a link to the American supplier's site early on in this discussion. There are several videos showing how the job is done. Well worth watching.

 

I can only suggest that if several of you want to use this product, you band together to import one big order, although you will each probably want a different colour.

 

OME

 

 

[Phil Perry]

I remember stripping the silver paint off VH-ARX . . .an Auster, owned by my mate Jerry Denahey at Berwick in the 1970s. . .Jeeze. . .what a horrible job that was. . .I stunk of MEK solvent for weeks. . it got up me nose and in me clothes. . .not a pretty job. . . as it happened, upon inspection, the fabric was fine, no need to take it off and replace it. . .

 

This pleased me greatly, after having helped to repair a DH82A somwhere else in Victoria some months previously. . .these blaggers used to get 'Friends' to help with such jobs, .. no pay of course, but promises of flight time in the subject aircraft which rarely, if ever turned into reality. . .but young suckers like me got sucked in. . . as you do. . . .( when you are a daft youngster. . .)

 

However, I have to admit that when VH-ARX got repainted white,. . .I DID manage to use it for quite a few hours spaced over 2 years and it was a lovely aircraft to fly with sliding side windows ( Think Mini car ) so that me and the co pilot could chuck our fag ends out of the windows easily. . . .and I really likded the Vernier Throttle knob too. . . .enabling minute adjustments to the engine RPM. . .and wondered why this feature didn't appear on Cessna and Piper types. . . .

 

Fast forward 25 years and Imagine my shock, when I was given a copy of an Australian magazine, which showed my favourite Auster. VH-ARX, in some sort of old Airline colours , on the front page of the Auster Club magazine. . . brought back the smell of the MEK did that. . . .I often wondered if they'd kept the sliding ashtray windows. . . . .

 

Edit: It was living in some godforsaken pace called Gippsland according to the magazine. .,. . .which I still have somewhere. . . . .

 

 

[BrianG]

I will be re covering my Mini Cab GY201 in the near future possibly using Orarex UL600. Can any one advise if there is an Australian agent that carries stock.

I have samples of ORATEX materials and have been for ORATEX factory in Germany for training. I was so impressed with this product that I offered to represent ORATEX locally . I now am the Australian and NZ distributor. You can look up wheelerswings.com.au for more info. Contact me and I will do what I can to help.

Regards

 

Brian

 

 

[BrianG]

I will be re covering my Mini Cab GY201 in the near future possibly using Orarex UL600. Can any one advise if there is an Australian agent that carries stock.

Hello Lou, I should have added that ORATEX have a policy of not having distributors keeping stock other than samples. The reason is two fold. They want to keep a record of every aircraft and link it to each batch of material as part of their quality control. ORATEX fabric does not have a shelf life so you can purchase it and use it when required. The second reason is that the thermal setting ORATEX adhesive does have a shelf life and you should only order it when you are ready to cover. ORATEX want to be sure customers are shipped fresh adhesive. The adhesive bond is very strong, but regardless there is a simple test for bond strength as part of your quality control.The adhesive is water based so shipping is not an issue. Not handing volatiles is one of the advantages. You would probably be aware that no filling, painting or UV coating is required. Best contact me and I can address any more questions.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

'Twould appear that I have been trampled by the march of Progress!. My opinion was formed after having seen some aircraft which had been painted with a brush...OME

I agree, OME, but mine has quite a bit of acrylic, applied with a brush. It's just not worth masking off the whole machine after each small repair or modification. Pretty soon I will be finished the development process; then she gets a decent spray job.

 

 

[Lou R]

Hello Lou, I should have added that ORATEX have a policy of not having distributors keeping stock other than samples. The reason is two fold. They want to keep a record of every aircraft and link it to each batch of material as part of their quality control. ORATEX fabric does not have a shelf life so you can purchase it and use it when required. The second reason is that the thermal setting ORATEX adhesive does have a shelf life and you should only order it when you are ready to cover. ORATEX want to be sure customers are shipped fresh adhesive. The adhesive bond is very strong, but regardless there is a simple test for bond strength as part of your quality control.The adhesive is water based so shipping is not an issue. Not handing volatiles is one of the advantages. You would probably be aware that no filling, painting or UV coating is required. Best contact me and I can address any more questions.

Hi Brian, thanks for that info, i will certainly keep you in mind as i am still some time off the task of beginning the fabric process.

Cheers Lou.

 

 

[geoffreywh]

I watched the Oratex Video. It's just like covering a model but much larger. and much less messy than the fabrics. A bit of practice would be a good idea though.

 

 

[BrianG]

Hi Geoff. It is easy to practice first. You just need some fabric and a small amount of the adhesive and you can see what the final result will look like. It is not a difficult or messy process. One chap covered his entire aircraft inside his house next to the lounge room. Few of us could get away with that. There are some technical tips on the website under technical Info. I am not sure if the example of covering the rudder is what you looked at. It is under technical at:

 

Wheelers Wings - Home

 

Cheers