Conference vmszoo::rc

1605.0. "Fix an UltraSport 40 ARF" by CSC32::HAGERTY (Veni, Vedi, $Cmkrnli, Rebooti) Mon Jun 20 1994 11:21

    As the result of a long and sordid chain of events, I have come to be
    the proud owner of a slightly crashed Ultra Sport 40 ARF and an OS 46 SF.
    I repaired it in a Mickey Mouse fashion just to see if I really wanted
    it.  I also converted it to a trike gear.
    
    I have since decided that I like the airplane.  (*NOT* a trainer :-) ). As
    such I want to fix the plane *correctly*.  The problem is that the
    plastic stuff that the plane is covered with is tougher than Monocote
    and is more resistant to things like bench crashes and attacks from
    rogue props on other airplanes, so I'd like to keep it if I can.
    It appears, however, that there is no way to cover it that looks
    even *marginally* good.
    
    I've got the old wheel wells to cover from when it was a taildragger,
    as well as some repair around the new LG blocks.  I'm looking for some
    ideas as to what to do here.  Mechanically, the thing is sound and
    flies like crazy.  It just looks crappy.
    
    					Dave()
    

Unfortunately, the correct thing to do would be to strip it and recover it. Not
what you want to hear, but the REAL answer 8^)

I had an ARF with the same type of covering and was able to repair it with
monocoat trim in "similar" colors. Another way is to put the rips back in place
and cover the seams with clear tape (clean well). You'll never be "as good as
new" unless you recover. The way I got away with it on my ARF was that the base
color was white/ Don't use an iron on the ARF stuff. It's not a heat covering.

Jim

	I have had success using sticky backed paper such as the stuff my
wife uses to cover the bottoms of our cabinets.

				Larry