Not scared of fabric anymore, progress.

[klamath101]

Two weeks ago I put the project up for sale, when it came to covering I was worried about doing it myself having no experience. That being said it’s a lot easier than expected. For those of you considering Oratex a few suggestions. First start a fire or turn the heat up to 100 it will make the fabric considerably more playable second you can pull and yank on it as hard as you can it won’t break or rip that I have found so far to get the wrinkles out. Just like the old Detroits slam you hand in the door before working with the fabric. I am using cub yellow it is translucent and dull in luster. Hindsight I would not follow manual and start with rudder or smallest part I would recommend starting with the piece that doesn’t have any tight radius bends for example the belly or the wings. Did a test yesterday using scraps and gluing to a dummy rib I can not pull it off of the wood. After that test I’m considering not rib stiching but on the fence at this point in time. If considering oratex you will want the straight edge tape I purchased pinked the reason you still apply two coats of glue underneath the tape and the glue is visible im between the triangles.

[alexM]

I agree that starting on a tail surface is a terrible beginning. I know because that's what I did.
Better Aircraft Fabrics will also tell you to save those for last, because you'll be able to use scraps remaining from doing
wings and fuselage. You'll also need that experience of pulling and stretching to get the wrinkles out.

Straight edge tapes are the way to go, but who told you to use adhesive under the finish tapes? They have their own adhesive
and the beauty of the tape is that it sticks/unsticks at a lower temperature, so it can be removed and replaced.

[jrevens]

…

Straight edge tapes are the way to go, but who told you to use adhesive under the finish tapes? They have their own adhesive
and the beauty of the tape is that it sticks/unsticks at a lower temperature, so it can be removed and replaced.

Better Aircraft & Lars told me. It was highly recommended when I was covering in 2016 -17.

[alexM]

Better Aircraft & Lars told me. It was highly recommended when I was covering in 2016 -17.

Interesting. That's not what he told me in 2021. He still recommends using the adhesive where tape goes over a seam joint (as others have mentioned) but it's more of an aesthetic thing. Lars happily pointed out how I could remove the wide piece over my leading edge in the event it should start looking rough, without any risk of damage to the underlying Oratex 6000. I was able to prove him right when I screwed up a piece of finish tape on my fuselage. With just the right amount of heat it comes off without leaving a trace.

And I think the factory changes the process even more over time. They no longer recommend the tapes over the top of tubes where they come into contact with the fabric. Of course I learned that right after completing the job on my own plane.

I don't know this for sure, but if you omit rib stitching you might have the first Kitfox covered with Oratex without rib stitching.

Not so much. Besides Harlan, Dustin (Shadowrider) and his brother didn't rib stitch when they did Oratex. Also Nate Ashton, Geek, myself...I'm sure I'm forgetting others.

Rib stitching might be easy, but not rib stitching is even easier. It's also smoother, lighter and looks better. I did numerous peel tests and plenty of math before making my final decision.

[jiott]

I saw a video several years ago where an unstitched wing had started to let go on a couple of ribs. The pilot didn't know it was happening or how long it had been that way. One day a flying buddy happened to fly above him fairly close and saw the fabric ballooning up and took a video of it. I don't think it was Oratex fabric, but it showed that it was not apparent to the pilot in the air or on the ground even though it was very apparent to someone flying above. A "Stitch in time saves ......."

[jiott]

My 2 cents on rib stitching Oratex: Even though the Oratex adhesive seems to hold extremely well when new, its durability over time is still an unknown factor, compared to the Polyfiber system which has been proven out over many decades. For this reason alone I personally would choose to rib stitch; besides, a fabric job doesn't look quite right to me without the old school stitch bumps.

[Kitfox Pilot]

The wings will be a breeze for you now you have the harder part done.
No need for glue under the finish tapes, they come pre glued.
I always tell people if they feel they need to rib stitch by all means do it.
I did several tests then had a screw up where I had to take the oratex off and decided that the glue is super strong so I didn't stitch.
This is my first fabric plane and I still check fabric before every flight!
One really nice thing about oratex not being painted is you can rib stitch later if need be and you can add inspection panels anytime also.

[klamath101]

After my own testing decided to omit the stiching, like said before can always add after the fact. Chose to cover the vertical using two pieces since I was fighting the curves. So reading the book on the trailing edge of the vertical where a seam is do you wrap around and glue to 180 degrees of tube or a 2 inch overlap? Blue is 2 inches brown is 180 degrees. Promise I can reed just finding the BAF supplied manual a little confusing. Picture is sideways maybe somebody can teach me how to rotate them also.

[klamath101]

Wow you guys I really screwed up page 46 says do not put adhesive under finishing tape. Thankfully it’s only on the bottom so be kind of hidden. Still planning on using a thin application for seam transition as described on page 28. Regarding not rib stiching my plan so far is to glue a rib cap piece on using some scraps then glue the fabric to that. Thinking it might make getting fabric pulled tight a little easier. How did you do it?

[Kitfox Pilot]

Wow you guys I really screwed up page 46 says do not put adhesive under finishing tape. Thankfully it’s only on the bottom so be kind of hidden. Still planning on using a thin application for seam transition as described on page 28. Regarding not rib stiching my plan so far is to glue a rib cap piece on using some scraps then glue the fabric to that. Thinking it might make getting fabric pulled tight a little easier. How did you do it?

You didn't screw up. You can put glue under the finishing tape but you don't have to. I agree with the other statement someone made that if you do hold back a bit from the edge.
I did the same as you on the first I put on and have a few glue squeezing's showing. Haha