I’m looking for some advice on protection covers for a small wood / fabric aeroplane (Jodel D11). Obviously it’ll stored inside, but for short trips indoor storage is not always guaranteed, so weather protection seems a good idea for the occasional night outside.
What setup would you recommend? I’m thinking of getting a medium-duty (to save weight and storage space) outdoor cover for wings, hood / cowling, and maybe one for the tail surfaces.
Any specific recommendations on a product (available in Europe, Germany / France / Switzerland) would be useful as well. Any experience with Aeroprotect (http://www.aeroprotect.de/en/default.php)?
Thanks,
Michael
I’m also interested in this too. Although we’ve (mostly) got metal and fabric, we park outside in a sheltered spot in the summer and it’d be nice to keep the bird crap off.
I would recommend talking to Cambrai Covers. The quality and fit are superb, and fit is important to avoid chafing in the wind. I’m just a satisfied customer!
The two main players are Cambrai Covers, and Bruce’s Custom Covers in the USA.
I had a lightweight reflective cover made by Bruce’s in 2003 and it was still good 12 years later but some of the sewn-on fittings started to break so I bought a new one. Very good quality.
There is also Jaxida (IIRC one of the first to produce complete weather resistant covers including hail protection) http://www.jaxida-cover.de/home/ and Clouddancer (http://clouddancers.de/).
As for the original question: For the occasional night outside, I wouldn’t do too much, space in the small Jodel is limited. IME just a cover for the canopy and the air intake is sufficient. We don’t use more on our Capitaine, either. Of course, if you intend to spend months outside, a complete cover does make sense. However, always keep your drain holes free :-)
Happy flying!
I wouldn’t worry for parking outside during a trip. It’s extended periods out of doors without flying that does the damage.
They used to keep club DR400s at Rochester outside for a long time with no serious deterioration of fabric or woodwork, but they were flying at every opportunity.
That said, a good lightweight canopy cover is a good idea to keep the heat and sunlight off the avionics etc.
If you want to keep it outdoor for longer periods then consider Cambrai or Bruce’s covers. Better still a polytunnel type shelter if that’s possible where you regularly park.
I don’t think that occasional nights out of the hangar are a problem, I have been the owner of two DR400’s the current one is undergoing a major rebuild after twenty years and there has been no deterioration found due to environmental reasons. The aircraft has done a lot of touring and spent a lot of time outside during the summer.
A cockpit cover is nessesary to keep the temperature down in the cockpit when parked to protect the avionics and furnishings.
The most important thing is to keep the aircraft in a well ventilated dry hangar.
You can also add Sky4 covers to the list of people to look at as suppliers of aircraft covers.
http://www.aeroprotect.de/en/default.php
They seem to make very good covers as well. I know one member here who is very satisfied, parking his motorglider outside the whole year under the ISS-covers.
So I guess I’ll be looking for a light outdoors-capable canopy / cowling cover?
Would it make sense to additionally get a dust cover for canopy for indoor parking, or reuse the outdoor one? (The planes at our club all have thick smooth fabric covers for hangaring and thinner “synthetic” ones for traveling, so there might be a reason for having a separate indoor cover.)
How long did you have to wait for yours, and how much should I expect to spend on such a cover?
I’m thinking of making a makeshift DIY cover while I’m waiting for the proper one. Where could I source the fabric for that? I didn’t find anything on the big European GA supply sites (such as aircraftspruce.eu).
Zorg
Further to my last posting I have the web address for the company that have made four covers for me, three are in flying club use and have proved very robust.
sky4covers.co.uk
