Many ARFs come with covering that looks crappy out of the box. A little edge sealing and shrinking with a heat gun usually does the job.

I don't know what those trainers are covered with, but if you want to recover it, use MonoKote... Just do a better job than they did.

If you want "fabric", try Coverite, Nelson Colorfab, or Solartex.

They're a bit pricier than MonoKote, but...

Happy New Year.

I used to be a devotee of tissue and then silk and dope. Why anyone would want to return to that frail, fragile, rip loving stinky mess is beyond me. I'll just keep using my plastic film covering, thank you.

If your Monokote was that bad, you should have returned the kits to Tower. They wouldn't protest one little bit.

Using fabric, you are guaranteed to end up with an overweight model. To each his own.

What was the problem with the covering on the plane? Wrinkles, holes, cuts? I have seen ARF's come out of the box with some wrinkles, thats normal. They were easily removed with an iron and/or heatgun.
A hair dryer isn't a substitute for a heat gun if thats what you tried. Hair dryers don't get hot enough to do a good job and may make it worse.
Check this link for Monokote application if you haven't already. Note the temperatures required.

http://www.monokote.com/monoinst1.html

I can't imagine doing a nice job with masking and packing tape. Take some pictures and shows us your masterpiece if you go that way.

Hey Whirley,

If you're going to fly R/C planes, you'll need an iron at least, even when buying ARFs! It comes with the territory... Really.

A heat gun makes it so much better though. With decent covering material, you'll be surprised at how tight even the saggiest ARF can become!

Well, just don't tear the covering off the Pitts when ya get it! It would look really bad covered in packing tape! But the 600 MPH tape might look semi-scale with the fabric weave in it.