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Fabric Covering: Jon Goldenbaum

This document discusses various fabric covering systems for aircraft. It provides information on the history of fabric coverings, who typically does the work, and how to learn the skills. It then summarizes different modern fabric and coating systems, comparing their weight, cost, and benefits versus drawbacks. The key message is that while techniques have evolved, fabric remains a viable and repairable covering option for aircraft, and following the manufacturer's directions is important with any system.

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Maria Teresa Polo Pined
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76 views42 pages

Fabric Covering: Jon Goldenbaum

This document discusses various fabric covering systems for aircraft. It provides information on the history of fabric coverings, who typically does the work, and how to learn the skills. It then summarizes different modern fabric and coating systems, comparing their weight, cost, and benefits versus drawbacks. The key message is that while techniques have evolved, fabric remains a viable and repairable covering option for aircraft, and following the manufacturer's directions is important with any system.

Uploaded by

Maria Teresa Polo Pined
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Fabric Covering

Jon Goldenbaum
Is Fabric Covering Dying?

How many are still out there?


The Golden Age

About 15,000
Today?
Over 30,000

700 experimental/LSA
added
a year
Over 3000 covered a year
How long does it last?
Cotton/dope: six years
outdoors
25 Years
Outdoors
Too long
hangared

Today’s Systems
Is it difficult ?

Simple skills, labor intensive


Who’s doing the covering?

Cub by pro:
$25,000
Materials:
$5,000

Owners/Amateurs
Not an
A&P?
- Experimental: no problem
- Certified: A&P, IA mentor
- Pay them to inspect, sign
paperwork.
Make a new friend!
How do you learn?
Manuals

Videos/DVDs

Practice kits
Best: Workshops

•Distributors

•EAA Sportair
The past: organic fabrics
- Grade A
- Linen
- Envelopes

- Nitrate dope
- Then butyrate
The major systems
Today: STC’s
All Supplemental Type Certificates:
1. List of approved parts (materials)
2. Exact directions (manual)
3. A list of approved aircraft (aml)

Mixing not legal!


Ceconite
- Polyester.
- Heat shrunk
- Nitrate, then butyrate dope
- 12 Coats, choice of paint
Good Drawbacks
-- Burns
--Repairs -- Shrinks
--Rejuvenate -- Humidity (Blush)
-- Solvents
Poly- Fiber
- No dope, vinyl
- Heat shrunk
- 9 coats
- Choice of paints
Good
-- Does not burn Drawbacks
-- Does not shrink
-- Solvents
-- Repairs
-- Rejuvenate
Hangar Fire
Polyurethane Systems

- Polyester, heat shrunk


- 5 coats, all polyurethane
Good Drawbacks
-- Can be heavy
-- Only 5 coats
-- Fresh Air Mask
-- High gloss -- No rejuvenation
-- Solvents
Waterbornes
- Ceconite, heat shrunk,
- Waterborne, little solvents

Good Drawbacks
- Thinned with water - Inconsistent
- No solvents - Water is a bad solvent
- Fresh air mask?
Safety
- Solvents: keep
off skin

- Don’t splash in eyes

- Respirator if necessary
Let’s Cover
Cement

- Blanket

- Or envelope
Shrink fabric
-250, 5% shrink
-350, 10% shrink
-426, fabric melts
CALIBRATE: Take the iron’s temp.
The only way to tell how tight.

No heat guns!
Seal the Fabric
- Fabric
primers

1 brushed,
2 sprayed

Riblacing (mechanical attachments)


Finishing Tapes
- Variety of widths
- Doublers, anywhere two layers helps
No spray booth ?
Make your own
Spray Primers

Spray Silver
or (UV) coats
Spray choice of topcoat
- One part paints: easy repairs

- Polyurethanes, high gloss


Polyurethanes
Unlike most fabric coatings, the
spray mist is highly toxic.

Not this !

This !
Why are there so many
fabric bush planes?

Fabric is easy to Repair


Inspecting Fabric
Testing Fabric

Maule

Certified
Tensile
Tester
Worry about the paint and
coatings, not fabric

Coatings block UV

Cracked? Chipped?
Ringworm? Brittle?
Comparison using a cub
as an index
Weight:
1946 Cotton: 75 lbs
(12 Coats)

Ceconite/dope: 60 lbs
(12 Coats)

Poly Fiber: 60 lbs


(9 Coats)

Air Tech: 85 lbs


(5 Coats)
Cost
Ceconite/Dope: 80 gallons

Poly Fiber: 35 gallons

Air Tech: 15 gallons

$5,000
Summary
•Pick any system
•All work great.
•Follow directions
•Don’t mix systems

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