Original Posted By: HotelPaPa6(at)aol.com
>> Hi,>> I thought I'd pass along an atricle I wrote for our local newslette=r (I> also passed it on to Kitplanes with illusions of grandeur
. I am= inthe> process of using it as we speak. One of the Christavia has had hisplane> covered with the same produce since 1986 and has no complaints at a=ll.>> They hage a web site at: >> The web page was developed by none other than the infamous Dick Sta=rks,> that crazy member of the Kansas City Dawn Patrol. The Nieuports tha=t they> fly are covered with AFS and they are big proponents of teh system.=>> So far, my wife has covered the tail and, as of Tuesday night, we a=re now> ready to start covering the fuselage. Well, almost, the pre-cover> inspection on Tuesday revealed no real problems but I still want to= route> the aileron cables before we cover. It's really getting exciting no=w!>> Ken>>**>> When once you have tasted flight, you will always walk with your ey=es> turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will always b=e.**>> AFS Fabric Covering.>> After weeks of reading about numerous covering systems I finally fo=und> myself in Ennis Montana, the home of Aircraft Finishing Systems (AF=S). It> was midnight on March 6, 1999, when my wife, Rene, and I arrived at= the> Rainbow Valley Motel, having driven 11 hours from Calgary, Alberta.= The> motivation for such a trek was twofold. We had already ordered our> supplies for our Christavia MK1 homebuilt and since AFS had schedul=ed a> 3-day course over that weekend, we decided to do the course and pic=k up> our supplies in person.>> Ennis is a beautiful town (population 600) located in SW Montana> approximately 70 miles north of Yellowstone and situated on Route 2=87> between Butte and Bozeman. The Madison River, featured in the movie= "A> River Runs Through It", runs through the town. During the summer, t=hetown> is buzzing with tourists, but in early March, the only tourists com=e> equipped with their own snowmobiles to take on the snows of the par=k.When> we arrived, there were more snowmobiles in the parking lot than car=s and> trucks combined.>> The night we arrived, we told the very sleepy inn keeper we were he=re> taking a course for airplane covering and asked if he knew where AF=S was> located. He replied "Paul and Tammy? Yeh, they're out at the airp=ort -> just keep south on this road about 5 miles and you can't miss it." I HAD> asked Tammy for directions before leaving but didn't bother to writ=e them> down. After all, we men don't need no stinkin directions. So, at 8=:45the> next morning we get on the road for our 9:00 class.>> Sure enough, we found the airport and a large hangar that looked> promising. As we approached, however, we noticed a distinct lack o=ffresh> tire tracks or footprints in the snow. We walked to the hangar to f=ind it> quite deserted, but unlocked. Fortunately, there was a phone and aphone> book. I called Tammy and she only laughed a little as she gave me> directions to get to their shop - a couple of miles NORTH of the to=wn.>> As I got in the truck, grumbling, Rene smiled and asked why I didn'=t get> the directions when I arranged for the course. She knew better than= to> expect a response from that one.>> A Little Background>> AFS was started a year and a half ago by Paul and Tammy Yedinak aft=er a15> year association with the Blue River 7600 process. Blue River Aircr=aft> acquired the Eonex covering process in the early 80's. The original> process employed Ceconite fabric attached with a two-partcement/activator> gluing process and sealed with the 7601 filler coat, an early versi=on of> CecoFill. A two-part epoxy paint was used to finish the fabric. In= 1991,> a one part, water soluble cement called CecoBond was developed, tes=tedand> added to the 7600 process replacing the old cement.>> After trying numerous covering systems, Paul and Tammy first used t=heBlue> River 7600 process to cover a Super Cub in Miles City, Montana in 1=982.By> the early 90's they were fielding Blue River Aircraft technical sup=port> calls, taking orders, troubleshooting and performing R&D. In April,= 1997> Tammy formed a small company called Aircraft Finishing Systems (AFS=) and> added an 800 line to more formally handle the Blue River support ca=lls.> Six months later, AFS took over the Blue River line of fabric produ=ctsand> became a Ceconite distributor. At about the same time, AFS added t=heir> own water borne epoxy primers and top coats to the product line to> complete their fabric covering system.>> In its current form, the AFS covering process consists of the prime=r for> the base structure (yet unnamed), the glue used to adhere the fabri=c to> the structure (CecoBond), the combination fill coat and UV block> (CecoFill), and the top coats. Ceconite is the fabric called for in= the> STC covering this process, but the system will work with competitiv=e> fabrics as well. Rounding out the product line are the all-importa=nt> training seminars that AFS offers. There will soon be an instructio=nal> video available which may actually include our class. I'll have toget my> speech ready "I'd like to thank all the little people who helped me= win> this Oscar for 'Best Supporting Actor in an Aviation How-To Video'.....">> Over the years since first using the Blue River 7600 process, theyhave> rebuilt and covered numerous aircraft including several PA-12's aswellas> an SNJ trainer, the Navy version of the AT-6. They are currently co=vering> a Beech Staggerwing and just finished a Scout tow plane. Paul is an= AIand> taught Tammy the basics of covering aircraft. From there, she perfe=cted> the technique and does beautiful detail work. This was evident in t=helast> plane they did using all straight tapes. Tammy was not entirely ple=ased> with the end result and called the client to tell him that if he wa=sn't> satisfied, they could do it again. The owner came in and was more t=han> pleased with the finish and commenting that "It's just a tow plane"=. This> became the buzz phrase for the weekend. Whenever we made a mistakeor did> something that wasn't to Tammy's standards, we'd come back with " D=on't> worry, it's just a tow plane">>> Back to Class>> The class itself was quite unique. In addition to Rene and I, there= was> another couple, Mike and his fianc, Tracy. They are building an Avi=dFlyer> in Butte, about one and a half hours away. This was the first timeAFShad> any women taking the class. The six of us clicked together quite we=ll and> ended up having a great time.>> Working in our pairs, we started with some mock elevator control su=rfaces> that Paul had welded up for the class. The first step was to add th=e> multipurpose tape along each of the "ribs". This prevents chafing o=f the> fabric when the rib stitches are applied. This tape is a self adhes=ive,> woven tape similar to the tape used on hockey sticks.>> Then out came the glue. The CecoBond glue is similar to contact cem=ent in> the way that it works. It starts out as a liquid and sets up into a> flexible but incredibly strong rubber-like substance. It was painte=d on> the perimeter of the surface using 1" brushes. One of the neat tric=ksthey> showed us was to glue the bottom half of a small (2-4 oz) paper cup= to a> paper plate. Another cup is filled with glue and placed in the hal=f cup.> This forms a kind of "cup and saucer" rig that can be placed anywhe=re on> the fabric with little fear of it tipping over.>> The fabric is laid on the frame once the glue becomes tacky, then m=ore> glue is forced down through the fabric. This is where a little prac=tice> comes in - using too much glue can cause problems in the later stag=es of> covering with the fabric "dimpling" on the frame and having to be p=ulled> up later. The glue is also the sealer, which means that forcing mo=reglue> into that section of fabric becomes impossible and the adhesion is> compromised. Tammy and Paul have discovered that dry glue can be r=emoved> from irons, scissors and fingers with an industrial gum eraser. Th=ese> erasers can be found at lumberyards where they are used for cleanin=g> sanding disks. It is also useful to remove excess surface glue from= the> fabric once it has dried. Since the glue is water soluble, water w=ill> also help in the clean up while the glue is still wet.>> When we finished applying the fabric, it was shrunk using an iron s=et to> about 270 degrees. This pre-shrinking stage takes the slack from th=e> fabric. We then started on the other side of our surface using the= same> procedure as above. This side is tricky as well because you have to= tryto> apply the glue and fabric without interfering with the first side a=s well> as worrying about not letting the fabric dimple. We ended up havin=g to> live with a couple of dimples as yours truly got a little carried a=way> with slopping on the glue. Oh well, it's just a tow-plane!>> The other interesting part was forming the fabric around the curved> corners of the control surface. Tammy gave us two choices - the fi=rstwas> to cut the overlap into small strips and let them overlap each othe=r as> you came around the curve. The second, and more desirable, is to sh=rink> the fabric with an iron around the curve. This was fairly easy to d=o with> the 1" overlap on the main sheets of fabric. However, when we star=ted> taping, Tammy suggested we use a 3" tape to form around the corneras a> worst case scenario. We ironed those tapes for what seemed like hou=rs.> Tracy ended up being the envy of the group as her corner of the con=trol> was amazingly smooth and tight. Rene and I ended up with some wrin=klesby> using too much heat at the beginning.>> While Tammy was out of the room for a couple of minutes, Paul sugge=stedan> alternative method for getting out those wrinkles. He snuck out an=d> appeared a moment later, menacingly brandishing a heat gun. With a=n evil> grin he approached the control surface, fire belching from the muzz=le of> the gun. Just as he was about to hit our surface with a couple ofthousand> BTU's, Tammy walked through the door. She LOOKED at him and he loo=ked at> her like a kid who has just been caught with his hand in the cookie= jar.> He tried to protest, using the argument that "if they are going todo it> wrong, they should at least know how to do it right". Tammy was un=moved.> He did admit that using a heat gun was a definite no-no, but afterall,> this was only a tow plane.>> But before we got to the taping, we had to try our hand at rib stit=ching.> Despite the stigma that has arisen around how difficult it is to> rib-stitch, it is actually fairly easy. Regardless of how light you=rplane> is, I think that it is imperative that there be something more than= aglue> joint holding the fabric in place whether it be screws, rivets, wir=e or> lacing. If you do decide to rib-stitch, the flat cord seems to work= a lot> nicer than the round. We ended up adding a second layer of reinforc=ement> tape over the round cord stitches after they were done to prevent> accidentally sanding through the stitch in the finishing process.=>> While working on the Staggerwing, Paul and Tammy came across a rath=ereasy> stitch in the maintenance manual. Affectionately called the Stagger=wing> stitch, it is a lot easier than commonly used seine stitch.>> We also added inspection rings and control fairleads to our control=. The> rings are glued to the surface and covered with a patch. Fairleads,= used> where control cables or support wires pass through the fabric, were= cut> from a synthetic fabric material and simply glued to the surface.> Fiberglass can also be used and covered with a Ceconite patch to ma=ke a> smoother transition.>> The next step is sealing the fabric, which is done by using thinned= (five> percent distilled water) CecoBond, applied with a foam brush. A ver=y thin> coating is all that's necessary. Rene was the queen of coating gett=ing a> perfect even finish. As a man, I must say that it's far more mascul=ine to> have that light blue color rather than the girlie pink color that y=ou end> up with using the PolyFiber process.>> Finally, it was on to the spray shop. Paul has set up the second ba=y of> their office area with a small, folding spray booth. Since the mate=rials> are non-toxic, all that's really needed is a charcoal mask. However=, to> keep down the dust level, he also suggests using a small, filtered> discharge fan. Usually, these fans would be vented outside, but in= this> application it's just used to filter the paint dust out of the airand> discharges back into the room.>> Since Paul had recommended an HVLP spray paint gun, I shopped aroun=dprior> to our trip and found that most of them cost more than my compresso=r!> Then - success - I stumbled across a Star 950 HVLP gun at House ofTools> here in Calgary that was only $150 CDN. As I was unsure of how itwould> work, I decided to buy it and take it with me for the course.>> In Paul's expert hands, the gun was all set up in less than 15 minu=tes.> The verdict was that it was more than adequate to do the job. The m=ore> expensive guns do atomize the paint better at a lower pressure. How=ever,> similar results were also achievable with the Star gun using slight=ly> higher pressures. For a professional, this would certainly be an is=sue as> more overspray is generated. However, for an amateur painting one p=lane,> it is ideal.>> In the paint booth, the CecoFill is sprayed on first. It's a dark g=ray,> high solids coating that both fills the weave as well as provides a= UV> barrier. Due to the thickness of CecoFill, Paul suggests using a f=ilter> made from an insect screen (like in your windows at home) to strain= it> into the paint gun. Four mist coats were sprayed in a crisscrossedpattern> (vertically for one coat, horizontally for the next). Following th=is,the> control was sanded with 260-grit sandpaper to get rid of any> imperfections. This process was repeated twice before a final sandi=ngwith> 400-grit paper.>> Finally - the moment of truth - applying the topcoats. This is a fa=irly> conventional step and anyone with experience with paint guns will b=e> comfortable with using the supplied paints. When we the process wa=s> complete and dry, the fabric was ripped of the frame to take home a=s a> trophy. Obviously, this is one step you may want to skip when cover=ing> your own plane.>> Graduation>> In all, we spent about 24 hours in the class over two and a half da=ys. It> was definitely the most enjoyable class I have ever attended. I did=n'tget> any detention for talking in class or for taunting Paul and his hea=t gun.> Even if you don't plan on using their system, you can't go wrong wi=th> taking their course. The products they sell, however, are worth> considering especially if you want to avoid the harmful solventscontained> in most paints. Personally, because we have an attached garage, we= would> have to rent space to cover the airplane because of the possible to=xins.>> Their products are as good as any other products currently availabl=e andI> would recommend their system without hesitation. Don't let the size= ofthe> operation fool you. The Yedinaks are very professional and capableto> handle your covering needs. In fact, the small size makes them quit=e> refreshing to deal with. They know exactly what we are building and= I> don't have to explain my project every time I call for support. The=y are> even reachable on Saturdays if you get in a bind. I will do a follo=w up> article when we start covering the Christavia, which had better sta=rt> quickly as Rene is already eyeing things around the house to start> covering.>>________________________________________________________________________________