IT'S A WRAP Covering the Silhavy Extra

[Mike Karnes]

[Mike Karnes]

[Mike Karnes]

[Earle Andrews]

Holy mackerel !!! That looks nice Mike. At first I thought the elevators were wrinkled (compared to the stabs) because you hadn't smoothed them down yet....but then I realized that's the wavy surface of the water on the photo graphics!

[Doug Pilcher]

Holy mackerel !!! That looks nice Mike. At first I thought the elevators were wrinkled (compared to the stabs) because you hadn't smoothed them down yet....but then I realized that's the wavy surface of the water on the photo graphics!

When he first showed me the artwork Earle Andrews I thought the same thing until I zoomed in! Amazing!

[Toby Slihavy]

WOW is all I can say, wow!!!!

[Mike Karnes]

Haven;t had the courage to cover the wings yet so I am going to work with the fuse. To prepare the fuse for iron on covering I spray water on any dents that have happened while building. I do this first because in most cases the water will raise the dents enough to final sand smooth without using filler.

[Mike Karnes]

Final sand the whole fuse with 200 grit and blow off the dust with air before using hairspray to seal the wood. Spray 2 heavy coats of cheap hairspray and when dry sand with 1500 grit. Blow the dust off and start covering.

[Mike Karnes]

Alright, I chose Monokote to use on the fuse because it comes in 6 foot rolls and can withstand high heat when using a iron. Also the fuse will take a 6 foot piece to cover with no splices.
The first part I cover is the sides because I usually use a light color. This lets me lap a darker color on top with no show through.

[Mike Karnes]

Next is the bottom and I start with covering the landing gear plate and tail wheel plate.

[Mike Karnes]

The rest of the bottom will be done in 3 pieces. 1 for the middle bottom and 1 piece for each side to lap over the white side.

[Mike Karnes]

2nd piece on the bottom has been ironed on. Covering was cut to have a 1/2 inch overlap.

[Mike Karnes]

All 3 pieces have been ironed on trimmed and shrunk tight. This completes the sides and bottom.

[Mike Karnes]

To start with the top of the fuse start with covering the vertical stab.
First cut a 3/8 strip of covering and iron it in the bend between the vertical stab and the turtledeck.
Cut a piece of covering and cover the top of the vertical stab. Next to cover the sides of the vertical stab cut a piece of covering large enough to have some extra around the edges to tug and stretch.
To pre-trim the covering fit the stab, lay the covering in the gap and with the backside of a knife score the covering so it can be removed and cut off the plane.
Do this for each side of the vertical stab and iron in place and trim edges and seal tight with iron.

[Mike Karnes]

I decided to do the turtledeck in 2 pieces instead of fighting doing it in one piece.
Cut a piece 40 inchs long by 11 inches at one end and 3 1/2 at the other. Lay in place and score the covering at the vertical stab like before. Cut out the covering to fit around the vertical stab. Do this for both sides.
Iron in place and trim to fit.