Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Airplane and Wing Covers? Need advice

Mark, thanks for your valued input as well....

I am going for the covers because it does get very icy here in the winter, and we get frost just about every night of the winter season.

Since the KEYSOTNE FLIGHT does fly through the winter regularly, this is a bit of a hassle for us, so thus, the wing covers.

We have, since last winter, built a "headquarters building" near our planes to house ladders, a generator, de-icing equipment, de-icing fluids, a full propane engine heater, and a generator to run individual sump heaters we just had installed.

Hopefully, this winter will be easier to fly in than past winters due to our pooling of equipment. The wing covers will help combat the frost, and, since we now have the building, I can place the covers in there while flying.

I see your point about purchasing the highest quality material - you get what you pay for. I also like the idea of straps vs. bungees, so I will see what I can find.

I am tempted to cover the entire plane, as I park near I-81 and the soot from the many, many trucks going by tends to settle on my plane and make it look rather nastsy at times.

Plus, when I get my plane repainted, I would like to preserve it for a long time. I cannot see repainting the plane only to leave it out in the elements to begin decaying immediately.

Again, thank you for your great advice. MM

Mike,
I do use my wing covers all winter. Last year we had a very significant ice storm. The weight of the ice was quite significant so I had to get it off the plane. A few light taps broke through the ice and I was able to peel it off the wings and tail. Snow is also easy to remove. I can usually brush most of the snow off with a snow removal brush and then I slide the wing covers off. If there is a decent amount of sunshine, the plane is completely clean in no time. Basically, the only areas of the plane that are not covered are the rudder, cowl and fuselage between the rear glass and the rudder. With their somewhat rounded shape, the snow just slides right off.

My 150 comes out of the paint shop next week. In AZ my only concern is the sun beating down on my new paint. Are there any drawbacks to a full cover? ie.. dust/dirt/sand getting trapped and scratching the paint?

Don't put a cover on for a couple of months after the paint job. Let the paint "season".

Thanks Wayne... good advice. That will be just in time for next summer's AZ heat.

Thanks

Mike

On my Cherokee I had Bruce's Custom Covers on the wings and on the fuselage. They are awesome and survived 5 years outside in Chicago summer and winter.

Pricey but about what you said you have set aside. Great customer service also.

I hear Bruce's Custom Covers is the best. Would like to hear from anyone that has one of the Bruce's covers. They are pricey!

I still have my Bruce's cover. It is over 10 years old and has been patched many times, but still works great.

I took the storage bag that it came with and cut patches out of it as it was the same material as the cover.

I have a hanger now, but still have kept the cover in case I end up tied down some where.

Tom

Sandy, I am looking into them...for what I want, wings, tail, and cockpit covers, it's over $2,000!

Still, if they are worth it, I may go for it. MM

Find a person that seams and get material...