christoph.both@acadiau.ca wrote:
>Could you PLEASE let me know what kind of wonder-paint from Germany you
>are referring to in your summary of Staverton?
>Christoph Both
>#223
Sorry, Christoph, I didn't get the details down fully in my notes. I have
since contacted Gary and he tells me that the stuff is called Schwabelac.
It's used as the finish in both manufacture and repair of glider surfaces.
If you know of a high-performance-glider repair shop in USA/Canada, they
are likely to have been using it, or _possibly_ a US-made alternative (no
guarantees if that will perform identically, though!) for up to 10 years.
Gary says it does not have a long shelf-life, so they are unlikely to have
big stocks of it for you to carry off. You should order when you know you
can definitely use it straight away. Remember, it's not any old plain
vanilla gel-coat like you'd use when making model boat hulls with a mould
or similar!
One of Gary's main points was that this finishing method is an important
contributor to the good performance of the laminar-flow airfoil sections
used in the hot gliders. Thus, it can do no harm to the performance of the
Don Dykins section on the Europa. Even if there is no performance gain, I
would not have wanted the regular paint system once I'd seen this stuff, on
appearance alone.
I gather that Ivan Shaw is interested in the product so there may be some
more info coming out from Kirbymoorside soon. I'm copying this reply to the
list as I imagine others may also want to know more.
And before you ask, Gary's _not_ online, sorry, and he's got enough work to
keep him busy for a little while, too.
cheers
Rowland
... that's Rowland with a 'w' ...
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