My old nylon wing covers need replacing. I live in Montana and our winters are very cold and very windy....we do not deal with freezing rain, etc. Does anyone out there have experience with the newer mesh type wing covers advertised as being ideal for arctic conditions? I have read some other forums and there seems to be a lot of difference in quality from current suppliers. Likewise, I am looking for a good quality engine cover as well. Mine got sold in a garage sale when I was serving overseas.....drats! Suggestions and tips are welcome and thanks for a great forum for pilots who enjoy their airplanes.....

Funny this should come up. I just bought a new set of Kennon covers. Got the mesh wing and tail covers and engine blanket. Was about $800 bucks all together.

I would recommend the mesh covers, particularly in windy country. They have those spoilers on them that really do work well. My old set was from Alaska Tent and Tarp and were of the solid variety from some sort of nylon looking material. They had a lot of tie downs, and were very inconvenient to put on in the wind. The quality of the AK Tent covers was good, but the material was a real pain for me because they froze on when wet. Evidently not an issue for you, though.

As far as the engine blanket is concerned, I think the exterior material quality of the Kennon is a little better than my old AK Tent blanket. I will have to say that the AK Tent blanket was much lighter, loftier, and easier to stow, though. The workmanship on either is excellent.

In summary, I like the AK Tent blanket better than the Kennon, and vice-versa on the wing covers.

gb

I have a set of red Kennon wing and tail covers I bought with my 1975 C-180, which I don't use. They are in real nice condition with wind spoilers. Send me a PM if you're interested.
TJ

Aviation Covers, Inc is the old Cunningham Covers. Same patterns. My mesh covers fit perfectly. Others had sworn by Cunningham, so thats the way I went and am happy. They had a lightweight, thin engine cover that they said had better insulating qualities than the older thick ones. If it worked as well, it would be a boon to the storage problem of the old engine covers.

I have had a Cunningham cover for about ten years now and it still fits and works great. Lynn is no longer around, but the quality lives on.

TD

I'll throw in my $.02 here.

Been very happy with the quality of my Kennon Spoiler Mesh covers, and quite thankful for the mesh and spoiler features when the wind is whipping. I've had their wing and tail covers for about 5 years, and there is no noticeable deterioration of the material. I have their canopy cover made from Sunbrella fabric, and I like that too.

On the engine cover, I am due for a replacement of my ratty 2nd-hand one. I have some fabric samples from Aviation Covers that I requested last year. The owner, Joang Shaeffer, has been very responsive and helpful so far, answering questions, offering to customize, etc... Only reason I am holding off is that I would like to get some testimonials about their "Thin Engine Cover" material. It is about 1/4" thick, with a layer of mylar or metal foil sandwiched inside. I have a hard time believing that this insulates as well as the 2" thick blankets I see around MRI and FAI. Also skeptical that the foil won't get brittle and crack in the extreme cold. If anyone has experience with this material, pireps appreciated.

-DP

...maybe the ideal scenario is to get one of the Thin Engine Cover blankets to live in the plane, and one of the 2" variety to stay at the home tie-down $$

Kennon - very nice, but bulky. Only matters if you are taking them with you in the plane.

I got to wondering if you don't add any heat to the engine compartment while the plane is sitting outside, does it really matter how thick or reflective the cowl covering really is?

After a certain amount of time everything will reach equilibrium at the ambient temperature. I vaguely remember a couple of long forgotten formulas from from physics about heat flowing to lowest temperature etc.

Hunks of iron don't recognize wind chill, only actual temperature; but the pilot sitting next to an engine preheater is a totally different story.

TD

TomD wrote:I got to wondering if you don't add any heat to the engine compartment while the plane is sitting outside, does it really matter how thick or reflective the cowl covering really is?

After a certain amount of time everything will reach equilibrium at the ambient temperature. I vaguely remember a couple of long forgotten formulas from from physics about heat flowing to lowest temperature etc.

Hunks of iron don't recognize wind chill, only actual temperature; but the pilot sitting next to an engine preheater is a totally different story.

TD

I'd say it matters if you fly somewhere, go ice-fishing/ skiing/ get a burger for an hour or two and then try a restart without preheat. It's like the R-value in your home insulation. How Fast will the heat escape?

I also like to throw a good cover on ASAP even if I don't intend to restart soon. I figure it helps protect the engine from unnecessarily rapid (aka "shock") cooling on really cold days.

-DP

I also like to throw a good cover on ASAP even if I don't intend to restart soon. I figure it helps protect the engine from unnecessarily rapid (aka "shock") cooling on really cold days.

I agree if you are going to get right back in after a couple of hours a blanket is a bonus.

I had not thought about "shock cooling" . This Georgia boy don't do extreme cold!!

TD

TomD wrote:

I also like to throw a good cover on ASAP even if I don't intend to restart soon. I figure it helps protect the engine from unnecessarily rapid (aka "shock") cooling on really cold days.

I agree if you are going to get right back in after a couple of hours a blanket is a bonus.

I had not thought about "shock cooling" . This Georgia boy don't do extreme cold!!

TD

Getting to be the time of year in interior Alaska when the engine cover is the last thing loaded into the plane before takeoff and the first thing unloaded from the plane upon landing.

Dear DP,

Thanks so much for mentioning our Thin Insulated Engine Covers. It may be helpful for you and other pilots to know that we still make the thicker Engine Covers too, so you can have your choice. The thin insulate material we use costs us more money to produce, therefore they are a bit more expensive than the old-style thicker covers.

You also mentioned that you would like to get some testimonials on the thinner material before making a decision. I have several pilots who are happy to oblige. Dale Springhill in Alaska is one such pilot, he owns a Cessna 172 and I'll let him know to look for your post here and hopefully respond. He called the other day and has been so delighted with his lightweight Engine Cover that he offered to be a testimony for us anytime regarding same.

We also have another Pilot who sent us a letter, who was skeptical like you are. His wife purchased it for him as a gift and he said he would not use it at first because of his doubt. But when the temps forced him to use the Engine Cover, he was so delighted that he wrote us a wonderful letter, which I will share with you. I'll go look for it, then post it shortly...

Thanks for you time and interest in our products. We are here if you have any further questions.

Kind regards,
Joang & Sue
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denalipilot wrote:I'll throw in my $.02 here.

On the engine cover, I am due for a replacement of my ratty 2nd-hand one. I have some fabric samples from Aviation Covers that I requested last year. The owner, Joang Shaeffer, has been very responsive and helpful so far, answering questions, offering to customize, etc... Only reason I am holding off is that I would like to get some testimonials about their "Thin Engine Cover" material. It is about 1/4" thick, with a layer of mylar or metal foil sandwiched inside. I have a hard time believing that this insulates as well as the 2" thick blankets I see around MRI and FAI. Also skeptical that the foil won't get brittle and crack in the extreme cold. If anyone has experience with this material, pireps appreciated.

-DP

DP,
Here is that testimonial letter I promised. I've also contacted our Customer, Dale Springhill to comment. But Dale would need to join here before posting, I have no doubt he'll do that.
Thanks!!!

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Contact Form.
Date: Tue, May 05, 2009 11:27 pm
To: [email protected]
FROM: First Name : Ken Thomas

City : Fairbanks State : AK

Comments : My wife purchased wing covers, tail covers, windshield and an engine cover for me at Christmas for my Super Cub. I am the most impressed with the light weight engine cover. I was a little sceptical at first. I have operated and worked on aircraft in Alaska for the last 22 years on the North Slope of Alaska and in Arctic conditions which are some of the harshest condtions you can operate an aircraft. I love the light weight engine cover. It is compact, takes a lot less room in the airplane and is very easy and quick to put on. Around Christmas and just after it got to -40F and -50F here in Fairbanks so I lost my interest in trying out the engine cover for pre-heating the airplane. I finally got a chance to use it in February when the temps warmed up to -20F in the day time. The old rule of thumb, more insulation is better, not so with your engine cover. Other engine covers I have used and been around you can eventually feel the warmth on the outside of the cover. Not with the light weight engine cover my wife got from you. It is awesome. You can feel a little heat around the engine air intake inlets other than that it is great. In cold temps one of the first indicators the engine is starting to warm up is the propeller. The crankshaft will start to transfer heat to the propeller. The first sign of heat transfer is the propeller frosts over at the hub next to the spinner, when it finally melts the frost off the propeller the engine is starting to get warm enough to operate. The propeller melt off happens a lot faster at -20F with your light weight engine cover than other covers I have been around or used, I love it. The other thing I like about it, I consider my engine cover part of my survival gear, if I need survival gear it will transfer less heat when I am rolled up in it than other covers I have used. Thank you for a great product.

Ken
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denalipilot wrote:I'll throw in my $.02 here.
On the engine cover, I am due for a replacement of my ratty 2nd-hand one. I have some fabric samples from Aviation Covers that I requested last year. The owner, Joang Shaeffer, has been very responsive and helpful so far, answering questions, offering to customize, etc... Only reason I am holding off is that I would like to get some testimonials about their "Thin Engine Cover" material. It is about 1/4" thick, with a layer of mylar or metal foil sandwiched inside. I have a hard time believing that this insulates as well as the 2" thick blankets I see around MRI and FAI. Also skeptical that the foil won't get brittle and crack in the extreme cold. If anyone has experience with this material, pireps appreciated.

-DP

I have a set of Cunningham covers that I purchased about ten years ago and they are going strong.

Lynn Cunningham passed away but Joang and her crew seem to be upholding Lynn's quality.

See: http://www.aviationcovers.com/

TD

Cunningham (dba Aviationcovers) makes great stuff and well thought out designs. One thing I found was a flexibility and willingness to install modifications to make a particular cover work on your plane, such as adding a vent door up front top on an engine cover to permit "stovepipe" flow of heating air when combustion heating, slots to permit the engine cover to fit around ski check cables, etc.

I also had them build a set of mesh covers WITHOUT the spoilers. As someone noted earlier, the mesh covers are REALLY bulky, when equipped with the spoilers. Since I wasn't too worried about the plane blowing away, I had em build a set of covers without the spoilers, and they bundle up much smaller. I would do that one again. If you feel you REALLY need the spoilers as well, ask them to attach velcro strips to the mesh covers, and attach the spoilers with vecro, but only when they're needed. Leave em home if you don't need them today.

I have not seen an engine cover made from their new material, but Lynn made me a lightweight, compact engine cover for a Husky years ago, which was much thinner insulation material than most engine covers. The thing worked great, and bundled up easy and tight. It was simply the best engine cover I've ever used. Fit like a glove, since Lynn was very careful about his patterns to get them to fit precisely. You really can't appreciate how nice a thinner engine cover is till you stow it a few times. As to insulation, if you're goal is to park the plane for a few hours while you fish, and keep a warm engine, it really doesn't take all that thick a cover. The cover Lynn made for that Husky was polar tech or some such, and it worked great. I left that plane for four hours at a time at temps of -20 or so, and never worried about having a warm engine when I returned.

Quality outfit, good stuff.

I had really bad luck with Kennon wing covers, and wouldn't go back there, frankly. Two seasons and they fell apart.

Go with the folks from Aviation Covers.

MTV

I had a set of the Kennon spoiler mesh wing covers for my Stinson parked outside in northern MN. I don't deal with a lot of wind, so the spoilers were of no use for me. they were not the greatest for keeping snow/ice of the wings. Snow would fall, then a little sun would shine on the black covers and melt a bit, then freeze the mesh covers down to the wings. Once you peeled them off you still had lots of ice/snow residue on the wings. I actually ended up sliding pieces of house wrap (tyvec) underneath the mesh covers to keep the ice from freezing to the wings. If keeping snow and ice off is your mission, I personally wouldn't get mesh.

Rhyppa,

That is a real problem with any wing covers, but you're right it is particularly bad in areas where you get a lot of freeze/thaw action.

I found that in Fairbanks, where it is either freezing cold or summer, but not much in between, the mesh covers worked fairly well.

I agree though, that if you're not worried about wind, DON'T get mesh covers.

MTV

Hi Joang-

Now that is what I call customer service I intend to get my act together and call in an order in the near future.

All the Best,

DenaliPilot