To Dale Kramer

[ozzie]

TO Dale Kramer: If the Lazair was still in production, what would you offer in covering material? As over twenty years have gone by and with the technical advances in this field i would be interested in your opinion if you feel to offer it. Also some or the early advertising material showed a silver covered series 1 with bike seat. what was that material. Thanks Ozzie

[yankeflyer]

Great question.

[Dale Kramer]

Wow, I'm ashamed its been so long since I have been able to get back to the forum.

Ozzie, I still think the Tedlar we used on the Lazair is probably the best choice, even today.

I'm sure there are alternatives. I also like Mylar as does Chappy but you have to keep it out of the sun. Some of these green house materials may work but it would take some research to prove it, although I know there are people using it now and that experience may be enough if you get all the data from these people.

Whatever I put on would be as clear as I could get it. After all that makes it a Lazair!

I would however come up with a way to attach the covering without the darn tapes.

Dale Kramer

[ozzie]

thanks for the reply Dale my preference is also Mylar soley for the clearer look.
yes the sun is a bit of a problem here in australia. tho mylar seems to hold up well.
yes an alternate to the tape would be good. another product i have been looking at is the polymere material that we print our money on. but very hard to obtain a sample tho. thanks for your reply ozzie

[pittsnut]

Hi there you guys,

The covering issue has long been debated and I agree with both of you.

Dale you said it well, " it's the clear covering that makes a Lazair a Laziar".

I have covered and helped cover 5 Lazair's in clear and they are all things of beauty.

I have also used Ceconite, which is a light weight polyester fabric covering used in many "tube and fabric" AC's. As you may know, it is literally glued onto the entire structure.

Makes for a great covering but in my humble opinion, it takes away from the "Lazair Look" and adds considerable weight not to mention cost.

I will always use Tedlar although, I agree with you Ozzie, that Mylar is very nice as well.

There is still nothing like a Lazair. The very best light AC ever designed.

Happy and Safe flying to both of you.

Dale George

[gdewsbury]

Just a thought. Does the tedlar adhere to itself with heat like polyethylene? I'm wondering if a sock could be made to wrap right round the wing with a heat sealed trailing edge. Maybe use batons top and bottom to keep in place.