Post by sierra=A0You can easily blow water
beads off the covers by mouth - they just run away. =A0I have been
feelin=
g
inside the wing covers of a couple of gliders parked out all wet
summer
i=
n
them and the interior is dry - unlike my Jaxidas.
And they are new this season - are your Jaxidas?. The acid test will
be in 2-3 years. One problem with mine that seems to be resolving
itself was leakage through the seam along the top of the canopy
cover. BTW was advised to use baby wipes to clean off bird p**!
My Jaxidas are 2 years old but they are made with their newer outer
material which has not deteriorated and seems to be waterproof. What
seems to happen is that in very wet conditions the separate inner
corrugated material absorbs water. My speculation is that it is the
unintended consequence of having a flapping/flexible structure raised
slightly off the wing that allows (sometimes very humid) air to circulate
over the glider surfaces - especially when there are windy conditions. I
think that it is better to have a waterproof but breathable and fairly
heavy and inflexible material lying directly on the wing to minimize
under-the-cover air movement but allow water vapour to escape when the
rain stops.
John Galloway- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
I bought a set of EMFO covers for my LS-3-17 and would never consider
buying them again in the future. The cover for the tailplane did not
fit and was obviously made for another glider, and the fuselage cover
fit too snugly to hold the velco attachments on the wing covers. I
notified EMFO of the problems, and they requested that I send them
photos before they would replace them. I sent the photos to both EMFO
and Tom Knauff, the US distributor of EMFO at the time. Despite
multiple emails sent by both me and Tom Knauff, we never received a
reply from EMFO during the next 2 years. During that time, I
continued to use the cover pieces that did fit to partially protect my
glider from the elements. My experience was that EMFOs did not stand
up to the extreme UV conditions and heat of Truckee, CA where my
glider was based (5,900 ft and 90+ deg F). The covers turned brown in
color, shrank, and deteriorated in the sunlight. I sent the covers
back to Knauff who sent them to EMFO as the covers are advertised to
come with a 3 year warranty. When EMFO received the covers, they
quickly responded this time, and accused me of violating the warranty
by washing the covers with a chemical or detergent when in fact I did
not. Evidently, EMFO thought the smell of the detiorated fabric was a
chemical, or was from chemical exposure. In the end and after several
more emails to EMFO, I never got a set of replacements that ever fit
my glider. in my case, EMFO ignored my product complaints about
poorly fitting covers, and blamed me for their covers not standing up
to their durability claims to avoid honoring their warranty. Although
I never got a satisfactory resolution to the problem, Tom Knauff
provided me with excellent customer service in trying to get EMFO to
get me a set of covers that fit during that two year period. My
understanding is that he no longer distributes EMFO nor Jaxida covers,
in part, due to the problems he has had with these companies
supporting their products.