Hi guys i'm building my first kit plane, it is a great planes piper cub j3 40 size. Right now i'm getting ready to cover it and the manual says to cover the fuse bottom then the sides then the top, I'm trying to figure how you would just cover the top. It seems to me you could cover the sides and top at the same time and it would look better and be easier. This is my first time covering though so i really don't know. Any of you guys had experience with this? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

When you cover the top you are also wanting to cover each side of the Fin as well. I would do as the directions suggest and cover in those steps. If you cover it correctly you will have a nice filet from the fuse to the fin. This area can be a bear to get right. I prefer using Sig Koverall fabric which makes the job much easier. I am attaching a pic of the tail of my 1/4 scale cub after the fabric and stitching has been applied, it will show you how this area should look.
Anthony

I think I need to alaborate just a little, The top is actuallt covered in 2 pieces. One piece for each side of the top and each side of the fin. It is the only way to get the covering to look right. I also covered the .40 GP Cub I built years ago the same way with Monokote, it wasn't easy.
Anthony

Check out this page by Minflyer (Mike Buzeo) a moderator here. The are also videos by Mike that are very good.

Forgot to give you the link

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...?article_id=67

Yes Minflyers videos are great they helped me alot with my first cover job





john

Thanks for the plug guys

While WacoNut's method is good for avoiding an extra seam, it is also a very advanced method. I would not recommend it for a first-timer.

Cover the fin and stab first, and cover the entire bottom, then cover the sides. For the top, just from the rear of the fuse to the blocks on each side of the fin. Finally, do the top (forward of the fin) in two pieces.

And remember to start by adding 3/8" strips to all of the corners where the stab and fin meet the fuse.

Mike,

Any plans to add videos showing fabric covering, like Koverall? It seems to regaining popularity and I know I'd pay to see you guys do a fabric covering and paint job.

Sorry, probably a bad place to post this. I am getting ready to cover my Sig Cub in Fabric and this part has me confised as well... Good luck with yours.

Not really (sorry) but I happened to be covering a wing and had a lot of time on my hands, so I figured I'd video the process.

But nowadays I'm so busy doing reviews that I rarely get a chance to build anything anymore.