Saturday, May 7, 2011

Re: Light-Sport Aircraft Yahoo group Hanger vs cover for ragwing?



Mr. Alex
             The type of fabric that covers your plane is nothing more than sail cloth. Though very strong and robust when new, is subject to the ultraviolet rays of the sun.. In three months time the fabric will not pass a fabric test and would be very unsafe to fly.. The clearcoat is mostly to keep the fabric looking clean and shinny but it also magnifys the sun's rays at points. Your best bet would be to cover it with canvas that is treated for rot protection during the time you have no hanger.. Make sure the canvas is tied securily,,I cannot stress enough how the sun's rays attacks the fabric..One day here, another day or two there and soon it all adds up and the fabric is too weak to fly.. In the deep south I have gone only five years without having to change the fabric such as yours. Without being painted it is sometimes in the months and at most a year and a half.  I sew my own fabric covering and cheap cotton fabric can be had for pennies on the dollar at frabric sales..
        we wish you many hours of enjoyment with your plane and  count the hours the plane is in the sun flying.. It all adds up.. I have had to change my fabric with only 800 hours of flying time in the heat of summer. I would have gone to the painted fabric but I so love the clean look of shinny  dacron sailcloth in bright colors shinning in the sun..
                                   Gentle breezes                              Cajun Wes

--- On Sat, 5/7/11, circicirci <acensor@fastmail.fm> wrote:

From: circicirci <acensor@fastmail.fm>
Subject: Light-Sport Aircraft Yahoo group Hanger vs cover for ragwing?
To: Sport_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, May 7, 2011, 9:51 AM

 
I'm a newbie student pilot about to buy a Skyranger LSA.

Hanger space near Medford Oregon is (a) hard to come by and (b) expensive.

I know given it's fabric covered it would be a shame to leave this very nice aircraft long term unprotected.

Wondering about the alternative of making a custom cover for sun (and perhaps less so rain) protection/
Any thoughts or experience on that?

The owner has always hangered it but says "Fabric is clear coated for moisture and ultraviolet protection."
To the touch it seems like a totally waterproof covering/skin.
How much protection does that clearcoat really give?

Our climate is relatively mild here but, unlike say an aircraft tied down in Seattle Washington where it gets little sun but lots of rain,
we do get lots of sun.

Would it be a problem to, say, leave it tied down unprotected for three months while shopping for a hanger or other protection.

Alex



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