Polyspan covering a balsa wing with curved wingtips

Polyspan covering applied with butyrate dope. Single piece covering, including the curved wingtips requiring no cuts to the material. Ironed on to speed stick the covering to the pre-doped balsa surface. Presentation by Roger Kramar on his Jamison Special control line old time stunt airplane.

[@barrywinslow9798]

Glad you made this vid.......it's helped me greatly. Thanks

[@ronaldrose6885]

We added baby powder to dope to seal the wood pores and to fill the weave on silk/silkspan...when sanding ,you are sanding the powder not the covering/wood..

[@marcellagrand1322]

Hi Brent andbGordy ,Craig Beswick and me have just orded some so wont be long now .

[@WinshipModels]

Thank you for putting this content out there. Always helpfull to see other modelers sharing their skills.

[@anthony3D]

Merci de partager vos connaissances, elles sont très utiles. 😊👍

[@williamalley4976]

It's fun to watch and listen to a room full of opinions!

[@flycl756355]

This is great stuff!!! Far better than my polyspan skills!

[@johnskukalek3286]

very valuable

[@sut2910]

Thanks for sharing the video. I covered a couple of Herr 1/2a kits with Polyspan a few years ago it was a bit challenging at first but turned out great. Can you list a source for it? Thanks

[@VGDW]

The way to attach the wing tips in the video was very helpful. In particular, I would like to incorporate the method of pasting using both paint and iron into future aircraft production. Regarding polyspan, it is a fabric that is not very familiar in Japan, but is it something like silk?

[@calescapee9642]

I used to wet Silkspan with a spray bottle and get it to lay down

[@calescapee9642]

I used to wet Silkspan with a spray bottle and get it to lay down

[@kh40yr]

Stomp on a pop can lengthwise. Now you have a double insulated iron rest. You can get creative with your pop can squishing and make a ridge to keep the shoe suspended. Helped my father refabric his Cessna 120 wings in the car garage. What an experience. I still have his alligator teeth scissors, for strain relieving the fabric around the round edges and where the ends would meet, and for reinforcing fabric around the strut mounts He passed out in the garage from the dope fumes. Mom grabbed him. He learned his respirator lesson. Thanks for the vid Brent. Getting ready to cover a CG Shoestring Stunter.

[@calescapee9642]

I always did the bottom of the wing first

[@calescapee9642]

Too bad they don't make Econocote no more

[@calescapee9642]

Modern Silkspan?

[@calescapee9642]

Spray bottle with water

[@calescapee9642]

Monokote is too heavy

[@calescapee9642]

What did I know

[@daveboatman4024]

Did he really say “siney shide”?

[@miguelsuarez8010]

Better than saying sinew

[@ItamarDeSá]

Tradução para o português Brasil.

[@bernardusjones9814]

Balsa filler coat

[@topbrent]

3-4 coats of dope.

[@bernardusjones9814]

Yup, built lots like that in the 70's and early 80's. Fabriccoat came out in the early 80's...silk span is a forgotten art.

[@ramtek2702]

Polyspan looks a lot like silkspan.

[@topbrent]

Yes. Polyspan is a non-woven lightweight fabric. Very nice stuff and tougher than paper silkspan.

[@ramtek2702]

@@topbrent Interesting. What advantages do you see over the many plastic shrink coverings since it must be both glued down and then painted and the plastic coverings require neither.

[@topbrent]

@@ramtek2702 The quality and longevity of the finish is why control line guys especially like it. Film finishes are attractive and fast, but for the highest level paint work, silkspan or poly span will yield the best results.

[@ramtek2702]

@@topbrent I'm 78 years old and have crashed more planes than I can count. Investing time in a finish because it lasts longer is a losing proposition. I love building but I hate painting.