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Kadir
Staff Sergeant
Gender: Male
Location: istanbul, Turkey
Registered: Nov 2009
Status: Offline
Posts: 49
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 Posted Saturday, November 21, 2009 @ 04:11 AM 
My RF5B, TC-PDK, serial 51049 was built in 1974, although immacutaly maintained by a semi military air club and always hangared and it looks to be in excellent condition, by God it has been 36 years since it was built. The maintanence people at the military say that the fabric is tested and in good condition.
Any suggestions! Do I need to strip and re-cover? How long does fabric covering last?
If I keep the fabric as it is, how do I go about removing the paint and repainting her?
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Jorgen
Captain
Gender: Male
Location: Lund, Sweden
Registered: Apr 2007
Status: Offline
Posts: 835
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Posted Saturday, November 21, 2009 @ 06:03 AM
Marhaba afandim Kadir,
there is a lively discussion about recovering and how to do it in the "covering the fuselage with fibreglass"-thread. No one knows exactly how long fabric will last, it´s "on condition"- if it looks good, it is good to go. Fabric testing is best done by a tester by someone used to it, I´m sure you can find someone to help you with that if you doubt the judgment of your military maintenance friends (if for example they sold you the aeroplane)
May the 4´s be with you/ Jörgen
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Jorgen
Captain
Gender: Male
Location: Lund, Sweden
Registered: Apr 2007
Status: Offline
Posts: 835
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Posted Monday, November 23, 2009 @ 04:33 PM
Sorry,
I forgot to comment on the re-painting issue. That depends on what paint you have on right now, if it´s dope paint you can wash it away with acetone, but if it´s a 2-component paint (more likely) it´s almost impossible to remove the paint without recovering. You can of course just sand the surface and paint on top of it, but that adds some weight in paint.
Why don´t you send pictures to Collin so he can post them on the website?
May the 4´s be with you/ Jörgen
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Kadir
Staff Sergeant
Gender: Male
Location: istanbul, Turkey
Registered: Nov 2009
Status: Offline
Posts: 49
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Posted Friday, January 15, 2010 @ 09:25 AM
Merhaba Jorgen
I have finaly had the time to go visit my bird, TC-PDK at its nesting place. I spent an hour checking the fabric and the paint.
She seems to be in excellent shape, ofcourse she does not have the "wet paint" gloss you find in many modern cars, but,
for her age she is beautiful. I will get someone from an auto paint shop to see if something can be done to make her more
shiny without adding weight.
I hope to fly her in April ..
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Jorgen
Captain
Gender: Male
Location: Lund, Sweden
Registered: Apr 2007
Status: Offline
Posts: 835
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Posted Friday, January 15, 2010 @ 06:03 PM
Merhaba Kadir,
it sounds like you should give her a good washing + waxin' down before you decide on any recovering/painting etc. Aeroplanes are meant to fly, not just shine and "the enemy of good is perfect"!
Don´t forget to oil the trim wire (see maintenance-elevator trimmer thread, page 3).
May the 4's be with you/ Jörgen
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