Covering with Oratex

[Bissetg]

I wouldn’t consider using anything but Oratex.

I’ve had several aircraft over the years that were covered in ceconite. Repairs are a pain in the proverbial in my opinion. I hate painting, I always end up in a mess with annoying blemishes here and there.

Oratex is so easy for repairs, I haven’t had any issues with it letting go yet. I think prep is key with an Isopropyl Alcohol wipe of the joins and then following the procedure has worked for me.

I live in a temperate climate where it never really exceeds 100F or about 37C.

I prefer the backed product that isn’t translucent, I think all their colours are available in that now in Oratex 6000.

Not painting, it’s light weight, and simplicity of repairs have been great for me, however if you want the gloss finish you will have to paint it which kind of defeats the purpose of using it.

Like everything it comes down to horses for courses, but like I say for me, I’d use it again tomorrow.

[rodsmith]

I just got a notice that our EAA chapter is sponsoring an Oratex covering class 8-5 on April 19th. Location is Delta, CO.,instructor is Brent Hoskins, limited to 16 people. I would love to go just for my own education but can't justify the $275 cost. Delta is about 4 hours from Denver, 5 hours from Salt Lake.

[Jskyking]

Is there registration/ contact information on the class. I checked the EAA Chapter website- no joy. Thanks- jay

[rodsmith]

Is there registration/ contact information on the class. I checked the EAA Chapter website- no joy. Thanks- jay

PM me your email address and I will send you the flyer that has all the sign up info.
Rod

[Jskyking]

Thanks Rod. I got in touch with the Delta EAA Chapter and got a class quota. Very easy to do. Thanks again. Jt

[Jskyking]

I cannot say enough good things about the workshop that Brent Hoskins gave in Delta. An excellent instructor and he and his wife removed the Oratex mystery for us. Being able to take a flight surface from start to finish in one day including tips and techniques on how to get a pro grade finished product was an attribute to the instructor. So far, We have completed the elevators, stabs and the control tabs and are very happy with the results. I would concur with others, take a workshop or shadow an experienced Oratex builder. As a first time fabric installer, the manual only gets you so far. My wife videoed the class with her iPhone , while not professional grade, it’s good enough to get a running start. // jt

[rodsmith]

Glad it worked out for you to attend the class.

[Utah-Jay]

My Oratex plane will be at Oshkosh, I am happy to chat with anyone thinking of covering their BH with Oratex. There are two very tricky areas that took me a while to solve, so I have done the hard work, happy to point them out

[paulodonnell]

Look forward to getting a briefing on that! My Oratex has just arrived (including their beech strip caps to eliminate stitching / tapes), silver with jet black backing. First big job to get tucked into right after Oshkosh

[svyolo]

Tail surfaces - easy. Fuselage - probably easy with a decent tutorial. 5 years ago I couldn't find one. Believe it or not, the toughest part was the flaps and ailerons.

The last bit, the aluminum control surfaces, appear to be easy. Geometrically, simple. Oratex glue heat transfer and proper curing - 100% experimental. I suspect a lot of Oratex users doin't know this, they just did what they did on steel.

If there is a new "technique" for final heat curing of the glue on aluminum, I am all ears. I discovered this by accident. I do not claim to have the correct technique.

[Utah-Jay]

Tail surfaces - easy. Fuselage - probably easy with a decent tutorial. 5 years ago I couldn't find one. Believe it or not, the toughest part was the flaps and ailerons.

The last bit, the aluminum control surfaces, appear to be easy. Geometrically, simple. Oratex glue heat transfer and proper curing - 100% experimental. I suspect a lot of Oratex users doin't know this, they just did what they did on steel.

If there is a new "technique" for final heat curing of the glue on aluminum, I am all ears. I discovered this by accident. I do not claim to have the correct technique.

Interesting as I found the flaps and ailerons pretty easy, it is the elevator’s trailing edge curve that is difficult to not get wrinkles. Totally doable but you have to go slow

[kuss]

Another option for Oratex help is to hire a professional to do it. I understand this goes against the idea of homebuilding. This guy was working at the Oratex booth at Oshkosh 25 and he is a mobile fabric installer. You buy the material, then it's the cost of his travel to your airplane project plus his time. He estimated $7K for a Patrol. Just throwing this out there in case it helps anybody:
Tom Buttenob, Frontier Aircraft Fabric, (907) 232-7981.

[Untainted123]

He estimated $7K for a Patrol

I assume the $7k is his cost, not the cost of covering a Patrol including materials, so closer to $14k all in I would guess for a Patrol?

[paulodonnell]

I got the Oratex in silver with jet black backing plus their beech strip caps (to eliminate stitching) delivered to Ireland for just under €5k. It was an eve watering €450 ( included in that figure) for the dispensing gun for just one twin tube of epoxy which arrived in a temp controlled box. In Germany you just rent this for €35 per wk. I spent plenty of hours looking at them and talking through covering tail feathers and a cub fuselage at Oshkosh….it seems very easy now that I’ve had that instruction … looking forward to getting it done as soon as I get home. Seems very straightforward

[kuss]

Yes, $7K was the just the labor estimate and that was provided very informally! He brings his tools with him of course.

[Utah-Jay]

Might wanna check his credentials as I’m pretty sure Virgil has Mark’s LSA that an Oratex “expert” covered. I’ve seen it and it’s not great. Nowhere near mine

[gregc]

A friend of mine recently hired Tom Buttenob to cover a Kitfox. I've seen the results and it is a high quality job.