Covering

[lwford]

Information is power! Has anybody recovered a Cruisemaster? If so how much did it cost and how long did it take? Did you pay a firm or do it yourself? What system did you use? This is not an easy job as you have to pull the wings to recover these crates. It's nice to know from people who have been there before. LYNN N9818B :roll:

 

[cruiseair74372]

I recovered a 14-13-2 about 2 years ago. The cost of fabric and other related items was about $800. The cost of the paint was what set me back. About $2000. I used the Airtex system and loved the results. Pictures are posted on myplaneonline.com . Aircraft Spruice is were I bought all of the fabric an tapes. I used the boot for the fusaloge , if you wrap it around to the bottom you can remove all the excess and it will hide the seam. Good luck, it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed covering and stiching. :lol: :lol:

 

[lwford]

Thanks Randy for your info. I'm doing my homework on covering and like you I'm on myplaneonline.com. My plane is a 20 meaning it looks great from 20 ft. It was covered in pieces with Poly-fiber and painted over with Imron. The Imron is the big mistake and is a not fixable metal paint so that is why my search about cover. I put a new interior and inst. panel in it, rebuilt most of the systems and started looking at cover. Engine has 300 hrs since a gear accident before I bought it. It has been wrecked 4 times by my reading of the logs. The 1st and best when the crate had 200 hrs. The pilot pulled the parking brake on instead of the carb heat ( T handles are the same next to each other) as soon as the wheels touched it was over on its back and crushed. The Bellanca factory (Northern Aircraft) rebuilt it and then it sat in a legal BS for couple years. The guy I bought it from (80 yrs old )banged it twice. I painted my T handle brake yellow and only check carb heat like you do for Lycoming Pipers. Have gear light and horn installed so I plan to be a complete idiot to do a gear up. LYNN N9818B

 

[NC74392]

I figure I have about $700 so far in fabric and supplies. I'm going with the Poly Fiber system. My AI was pretty adamant about it for first timers.
I figure with paint, the Cruisair will be back on its wheels $4000 later. Still less expensive than someone else doing it.

The really disturbing thing about this whole project? If I buy a new avionics stack like I want (not need), I would have more invested in the radios than in the whole airframe/ powerplant!