Covering question (2 sides at once vs one side at a time)

[LSaupe]

Covering the fuselage this weekend (finally). One of the folks in our EAA chapter suggested covering the bottom and one side all in one shot (one piece of fabric). Then the top and side with another piece. Two pieces vice the four suggested in the Kitfox manual.

Any feedback on this? Kinda makes sense to do both at one shot, but... want to make sure I am not missing anything here before I embark on anything. It is a KFIII.

Many thanks,

Larry

[Dave S]

Larry,

If you are thinking about using one piece to wrap around the bottom and one side as well as the other side & top - be sure you do your measurements carefully to assure the width of the fabric is sufficient to cover both panels and have enough for sufficient wrap around the tubing. I don't know what the measurement is but you don't want to come up short. If using one piece for two sides - might end up with some darts to account for the shape of the fuselage - particularily for the bottom + one side.

When you look at the taper on the fuselage, you can probaby get better mileage out of the fabric if you do 4 pieces as you can piece out the narrow end on one panel with the wide end of the other panel.

Also, the bottom is a whole lot longer than the side; and, the top is a lot shorter than the side - would make for some interesting cuts.

Any idea what the advantage is supposed to be for doing two at a time?

There are probably 10 ways of doing anything........doing the math and measuring will tell you what is right for your situation. Consider there may be a reason the Kitfox Manual suggests 4 pieces...but, we are experimenters!

Dave S

KF 7 Trigear
912ULS Warp drive

St Paul, MN

[jiott]

For some airplanes (Cubs) you can buy a one-piece sewn sock for the fuselage. Without the availability of one of these socks for the Kitfox, I like the idea of 4 separate pieces because of less waste and easier cutting as Dave says. Also I believe possible repairs later would be easier; if you damaged one panel and had to remove/replace it, the other adjacent panel would not lose tension and pull loose from the tube due to only 1/4 wrap/glue on the tube.

[ken nougaret]

I asked john one time how he gets such a good look at the top edges of the fuse (no seem line). He told me the secret was that they do one piece over the top and both sides. This was after i had already done mine in four pieces. But, i had to do my top section twice to get it right. So i dont know if i would attemt it at the risk of wasting too much material.

[Paul Z]

I know when I would do extremely large fiberglass wing layup, it was a nightmare. It inevitably turned into a marathon work session, and before I was done I was ready to scrap the project.

[LSaupe]

Thanks for all the feedback. I ended up using the 4 piece approach. So far so good.