Roberto.
I own a Coupe with metalized wings. I am liking it. The plane is polished aluminum as are the wings. Makes for a nice appearance. I had my plane tied outside in California for years and I did not worry about the impact of the sun. Hail was unlikely there. Although admitted, wing covers can do a good job here. As for maintenance, I believe the corrosion check has to happen ones every year through the 42 or so inspection covers. There is no difference between fabric and metal wings here. Also I believe that within 20+ years even a rag wing can develop serious corrosion that is not that easy detected. There is no difference here to a metalized wing. The sheet metal adds around 20 pounds in weight to each wing, but you loose the weight of the fabric that is soaked in paint. My estimate is that the dope soaked fabric weighs at least 5 pounds per wing if not more. So the weight penalty is a bit offset. I think making a choice also depends on where you live. You indicated that you'd like to use a tie down for cost reasons. In areas where the sun is a factor, a shade hangar seems to be the minimum for a rag wing. My main reason to opt for a metal wing is the ease of maintenance of those. Any mechanic in the world can rivet a sheet metal back to your wing. Less so with rag wings. Here in Germany I would have a hard time finding a knowledgeable professional for resurfacing a rag wing. And if so, the costs are unpredictable. Hartmut N3330H http://www.ercoupe.info To: [email protected] CC: [email protected] From: [email protected] Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2009 14:07:45 -0400 Subject: Re: [ercoupe-tech] 'Metalizing' fabric wings. Sorry for the confusion but, no, I do not have (yet) an Ercoupe with fabric wings about to be subjected to forced metallization. I am looking into buying one, pondering between fabric and metallic wings and the potential transition between the two. Thanks for all the information. I am rethinking now my starting preference for metal wings. Roberto Waltman > > I've got to agree with Kevin. > > Each year, there's someone out there who'd like to replace their metalized > wings with fabric covered wings for the reasons cited. > > Trade if you must but don't damage a perfectly good set of fabric covered > wings. > > Also, I think that fabric wing covering can last longer than 10 years even > when tied down outside. > > As a very wise person once said to me, with fabric covered wings you can > take the coverings off every 20 years or so and inspect and fix everything > inside much more easily than you can with metal covered wings. > > I think there ought to be a fair number of Coupes flying on their 100th > birthdays. Only 37 years and counting for the majority of them. > > Ed > _________________________________________________________________ Get back to school stuff for them and cashback for you. http://www.bing.com/cashback?form=MSHYCB&publ=WLHMTAG&crea=TEXT_MSHYCB_BackToSchool_Cashback_BTSCashback_1x1
