Oratex Fabric Covering Revisited

[jamesmil]

saw this covering system on line and was intrigued by the simplicity, sure does cut out a lot of work and need to build a paint booth in the shop. also will save a lot of weight. also I under stand that rans will offer it in the rans 6es kit that uses per finished envelopes. all that being said I think I would give a good look if I were going to cover another airplane and was looking to save time and weight. just my 2 ct.

[Denali]

I think what will be interesting is to see if many of the manufacturers like Just, Rans, Kitfox, Backcountry Super cubs, etc begin to use it. The weight and application time savings are considerable.

This will be something to ask at Oshkosh 2014.

[dholly]

I was unable to get a firm price on materials to recover an Avid/Kitfox size from the manufacturer or US distributor at OSH last year, as they did not have an appropriate plane-specific materials list figured at that time. All I got was "subject to exchange rates" and "approximately 20% less materials cost than competitors".

The attached 2011 Poly Fiber materials and price list says an Avid/Kitfox covering kit cost $2,470 suggesting the Oratex covering cost should come in ~$1,976. Very curious just how accurate that figure might be.

Has anyone even got definitive info regarding a materials list and total cost for a Kitfox yet or, better yet, actually purchased the product?

Thanks.

[txskybolt]

Reading their website, believe they say the fabric is more expensive but in the long run, it will be less counting not having to buy equipment, chemicals, etc. The polyfiber quote is minus paint. The new covering is paint free (but can be painted). If I were covering a light, slow aircraft, I'd seriously consider using their product. You could dress it up with decals.

[Timberwolf]

Doing some reading the cost of materials to do a super cub is $6000 for everything but the wings-$9000 total including the wings. They claim the labor and painting costs offset that. Would probably worth it to not have to paint it then have chipping and cracking issues down the road. But they admit on their site no real long term testing has been done to see how it fares with the elements. They do mention having good luck with it on cubs in the extremes of Alaska.

[jiott]

I would have 3 concerns about the Oratex:

1. Does it have enough silver UV protection built into it? In my Polyfiber process 3 cross coats (6 total coats) of silver were used.
2. If you were using it unpainted, and had a color scheme where you need to change color along a structurally unsupported line, you would have to make an unsupported seam along that line. How durable is that seam?
3. All the finish tapes would only be held down by one application of glue. Again I think of all the layers of Polybrush holding my finish tapes in place.

[snowpaw]

Hi TeamKitfox members,
I just recently read an interesting article in the January 2014 issue of EAA Experimenter (see link) about a STOL-plane covered with Oratex that I thought I shoul share with you all.

http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/247918

The builder/pilot wanted to reduce the weight and used Oratex and he was very positive about using it again.

In the article it is written that the plane unfortunately burnt down in a hanger fire, but there's no further comment about the effect from fire on the covering.


Maybe the builder/pilot would be willing to share some experience about covering, durability, the effect from fire on the covering, etc. if he's contacted?

If all charactertics descibed in the datasheets are valid, it would be very nice to use the Oratex covering. Imagine the weight reduction and not having to paint more than the aesthetics?

Later on I will try tro find out more about the German company who's producing the material.