INTRODUCTION

 Definition
 Fabric

 Covering cloth/textile made from interwoven fibers after

undergoing thru careful manufacturing process
 Fibers/yarns

 Small fine filaments made from various materials and

used to make threads.
 Cotton, linen, glass, cellulose or polyester
 Fabric Terms
 Warp

 Direction along length of fabric (Threads running

lengthwise are termed the ‘warp’)
 Filling, Woof or Weft:

 Direction across length of fabric ( Threads

running crosswise are termed the ‘weft’ or
‘woof’ or ‘fill’ in the United States).

 Count (Thread count):

 Number of threads per inch

 Ply/layer/thickness

 Number of yarns/fibers making up thread

 Bias

 Cut, fold, or seam made diagonally (45

degree) to the warp/fill thread
 Calendering

 Process of ironing fabric by threading the fabric

between serious cold and hot rollers to produce smooth
finish

 Mercerization

 Dipping yarn/fabric in a hot solution of caustic soda to

shrink fabric & acquire great strength & luster/shine.

 Is a chemical process which increases the tensile

strength of the fibre and its absorption characteristics

 Sizing

 Material/lubrication such as starch used to stiffen yarns

for ease in weaving/interlacing
  Pinked edge

 Edge cut by machine or shears in a continuous series of ‘V’ to

prevent raveling/knotting or twisting
 Selvage edge

 The edge of the cloth woven to prevent raveling

 Bleaching
 Chemical process used to whiten cotton fabric

 Greige —condition of polyester fabric upon completion of

the production process before being heat shrunk.

 Cross coat—brushing or spraying where the second coat is

applied 90° to the direction the first coat was applied. The
two coats together make a single cross coat.
TYPES OF FABRIC
TYPES OF AIRCRAFT FABRIC
 There are basically two FAA approved fabric types
 Organic Fabrics

 Inorganic/Synthetic Fabrics

 Organic Fabric – is made from plant material

 Cotton and Linen are popular natural fabric

 Grade A cotton - standard for many years.

 Weight – 4 ounce per square yard

 1ounce = 28.35gram, & 1yard = 0.91meters
 Thread count - 80-84 threads per inch (tpi) in wrap & fill
direction
 Minimum tensile strength
 80psi of width in both warp & fill direction
DISADVANTAGES OF ORGANIC FABRIC
 Tendency to absorb moisture and are prone to damage
from fungal attack such as mildew/decay and rot.

 Food source for insects and deteriorate when exposed to

ultra-violet radiation.

 Flammable
 Tensile Strength

 Customary determinant for the strength of fabric

 Amount of pull needed to break strips of fabric one

inch wide both in wrap and fill direction

 Expressed in pounds per square inch or psi

  Fabric Approved for use on aircraft having:

 Never exceed speed (VNE) in excess of 160 mph

 Wing loading greater than 9 psf.
 VNE – Never Exceed Speed

 Max speed aircraft is allowed to attain in any condition of

flight
 Wing Loading

 Ratio of max. allowable gross wt. to wing plan form area in

square feet
 Selection of aircraft fabric and related hardware is determined
by:
 VNE and Wing loading
 Inorganic/Synthetic Fabrics

 Require chemical processing to create the fiber.

 Advantages:

 Resist

 Deterioration by ultraviolet rays and

 Attack by microorganisms

 Disadvantages:

 Require care for proper bonding.

 Two types used to cover an FAA certificated aircraft

 Polyester fiber fabrics

 Glass fiber fabrics

 Polyester fabric, come under trade name

 Dacron, Fortrel, and Kodel

 Dacron is a commonly used polyester fabric

 Weight – 3.7oz/square yard

 Tensile strength = 148 psi
 Polyester fibers/fillaments come under trade name

 Ceconite, Superflite and Poly-Fiber

 Polyester fabric is currently most widely used covering material

 Advantage over linen and cotton

 Lower cost
 Additional strength
 Weight saving
 Increased service life
 Glass Fibers

 Glass Fibre is produced as a monofilament and its fabrics

are generally stronger than cotton or polyester.
 Made from fine spun/twisted/rotated glass filaments
woven into a cloth.
 Glass fibre fabric has a loose weave of glass filament
which makes it more difficult to dope.
 Advantage

 Not affected by moisture, mildew/fungus/decay/rot,

chemical & acids and fire resistant
 Disadvantage

 Adds significant weight compared to linen, & cotton

A/C DOPE
 Used to protect the fabric covering of an aircraft from damage
by environmental factors such as moisture, sunlight and
pollution.
 Prevents the passage of air through the fabric and reduces
friction, which improves the efficiency of the airframe.
 Certain dopes have the property that they shrink when drying
and tighten the fabric.
 Most dopes can be used to stick/attach fabric patches onto the
covering for repairs and access holes and, sometimes, the
fabric to stick to the structure.
 TAPES, SEWING THREADS AND CORDS
Materials used to attach fabric to the a/c structure-

Tapes –

1. Surface tape

2. Reinforcing Tape

3. Anti tear strip

SURFACE TAPE
 Doped over each seam or rib to cover the stitching.

 Provides a smooth appearance.

 For better adhesion and to prevent

raveling/twisting
 Same material as the original fabric

 Applied after the second wet coat of dope

SURFACE TAPE
REINFORCING TAPE
 Much larger Warp thread than Fill Thread

 Used over ribs between the fabric and lacing chord.

 To prevent lacing cord from cutting through the fabric

 Size: - Must be slightly larger than the member it covers

 Material :- Cotton, Linen, Fiberglass, Dacron

 Reinforcing tape used on aircraft fabric covering must have a

minimum strength of 40 lb.
ANTI TEAR STRIPS

 If VNE is > 250 MPH

 Bonded to fabric with dope

 Same material as the covering

 Anti-tear strips are recommended under reinforcing tape

on the upper surface of wings and on the bottom surface
SEWING THREADS AND CORDS
 Used to join two fabric edges together during installation.

 Cords are used when significant strength is required.

 Attaching a fabric covering to wing or fuselage.

 Types

 Machine thread

 Hand sewing thread

 Lacing/fastening chord

 Tensile strength, weight & specification varies with type

threads
LACING CORD
 Tensile Strength

 Must be strong enough to transmit the force on the upper

surface of the wing

 Should be waxed before use to “lubricate” it.

 Can be done by hand

 The wax should not exceed 20% of the weight of the finished
cord.
 A beeswax free from paraffin should be used for waxing.
 Lacing cord used on aircraft fabric covering must have a
minimum breaking strength of 40 lb.
SPECIAL FASTENERS
 Original fastening device must be duplicated.

 Wire clips

 Self tapping screws

 At least two threads of the screw must extend beyond

the rib cap strip

 A washer should be used under the head of the screw

 A pinked edge tape should be doped over the head of

the screw.
SEAM-TYPES
1. Sewed seams

 Machine sewed seams

 Hand sewed seams - Hand sewn stitch must be locked

at a minimum of 10 stitch intervals.

2. Doped seams
MACHINE SEWED SEAMS
Types of machine sewed seams
Folded fell
French fell
Modified Folded fell
Plain overlap
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SEAMS
 FAA approved machine seams
Doped Seams
1. For a lapped and doped span wise seam on a metal-or-wood-
covered leading edge, lap the fabric at least 4 inches
and cover with pinked-edge surface tape at least 4
inches wide.

2. For a lapped and doped span wise seam at the trailing

edge, lap the fabric at least 4 inches and cover with
pinked-edge surface tape at least 3 inches wide.

3. The dope applied to an aircraft's fabric covering causes

shrinkage on all coats.

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AIRCRAFT FABRIC TESTING
 FABRIC TESTING

 Required on 100hr or annual inspection program

 Two commonly used methods

 Manual Test

 Seyboth Test
AIRCRAFT FABRIC TESTING CONTD…
 Manual Test

 Precession spring loaded instrument

 With blunt pin on its end and

 Scale calibrated in pounds per inch

 Hold test squarely against the fabric

 Press until scale reads min strength

 If test penetrates fabric – strength below min.

 If only small depression – fabric good

AIRCRAFT FABRIC TESTING CONTD…
 Seyboth Test

 Specially shaped spring loaded sharp point with

indicator pin marked with green, yellow and red colored

bands
AIRCRAFT FABRIC TESTING CONTD…
 Hold straight against fabric & press till fabric is

penetrated & shoulder rests on fabric

 Red band shows – Weak fabric

 Yellow band – marginal strength

 Green band – airworthy fabric

 Place small circular patch on hole

 Seyboth and Manual fabric strength testers designed form
cotton- and linen-covered aircraft, not to be used on
modern Dacron fabrics.

 Fabric punch testers are designed for use on the dope-

finished-fabric surface of the aircraft.

 Their advantage is that they used easily and quickly to test

the fabric without cutting samples from the airplane’s.

 If a fabric strength is marginal, a laboratory test should be

performed to determine the actual fabric strength.
 Recovering Need

 Re-covering is expensive & time consuming

 Do not undertake till definitely necessary

 Required only when original fabric covers deteriorate to

70% of its strength.

AIRCRAFT FABRIC RE-COVERING PREPARATION

 Typical preparation steps

1. Removing wing and tail surfaces

2. Remove old fabric

3. Inspecting the structure

4. Preparing the structure

5. Selecting approved fabric & material

6. Preparing the chemical

1. Removing wing & tail surfaces
 According to mfg. instruction & place them on
cradles/supports.
2. Remove old fabric
 Roll up old fabric & store it till new recovering complete.

 If dope/oil soaked, store away from ignition.

3. Inspecting the structure
 Fuselage tail section for corrosion and rust.

 Control cables for wear and damage.

 Hinges for damage & lubrication.

 Inspecting structure contd…

 Inspect wings providing at most attention

 Check spars for crack & other damage

 Leading & trailing edge for crack & corrosion

 Check control cables and pulleys

 Inspecting the structure contd…

 Check wing truss for squareness

 If not equal adjust drag and anti-drag wires

4. Prepare the structure

 Remove old dope & apply primer

 Cover metal surfaces (L.E) with tape

5. Selecting approved fabric & Materials

AIRCRAFT FABRIC RE-COVERING PREPARATION CONTD…

6. Chemical preparation
 Dope:

 A chemical used to tauten (Stretched)fabric covering

and to make it air & water tight
 Consists of :

 A film base – cellulose fiber

 Solvent - acid for dissolving the film base
 Plasticizer &
 Thinner
 Chemical preparation contd…

 Film base dissolved in acid

 Shrinks and tautens the fabric after drying

 Plasticizer

 Improves resilience/flexibility & prevent dope crack

after drying

 Thinners – adjust viscosity of the dope

 Consistency when brushing and spraying

 Chemical preparation cont.…

 Two basic types of dopes used on aircraft fabric covering

 Nitrate dope

 Butyrate dope

 Nitrate Dope

 Excellent encapsulating/capturing property

 Best material for attaching fabric to structure for initial

coats of dope

 Disadvantage

 Highly flammable – serious drawback

BUTYRATE DOPE
 Better tautening characteristics than nitrate dope

 Burn but not as easily as nitrate dope

 Disadvantage

 Does not encapsulate the fiber as well as nitrate dope

 Clear dope/butyrate dope is weakened by ultra violate
rays
 Prevention method

 Tiny aluminum flake/powder is mixed with clear dope and

sprayed over coats of clear dope
 Form light tight covering preventing UV from
reaching the fabric
 Colored dopes given an aircraft attractive finish

 Dopes dries out when thinners & solvents evaporate

 Rapid evaporation of solvents leads to moisture

absorption

 This allows the moisture in the atmosphere to condense

and deposit on wet dope

 Moisture causes cellulose to precipitate from dope film &

form white porous deposit called Blush

 Blushed doped surface is weak, porous & unattractive

 High Humidity in a paint room also cause blushing of

dopes

 Prevention method

 Use retarders in place of thinners

 Retarders are thinners with certain additives to slow

its rate of evaporation

 Weakens fabric in short time

 Prevention method:

 Fungicidal dope with the first coat

 Thorough penetration of dope into fabric is required for

fungicide to be effective
  Dope proofing

 All parts of the aircraft that come in contact with doped

fabric must be treated with a protective coating by using:-

 Dope proof paint (zinc chromate paint)

 Aluminum foil

 Cellulose tape

 Clad aluminum and stainless steel parts need not be

dope proofed.
GENERAL
 All covering must be tauten and smooth for the best
appearance and performance of the aircraft.
 Storage
- Materials must be stored in a cool, dry place.
 Hence therefore the fabric shop must be:
 Clean

 Well lighted and

 Well ventilated

 The most desirable condition in a dope room is a

temperature above 70˚ F. and a relative humidity below
60%.

47
FACILITIES , TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

 Supports

- Easels

- To support a wing vertically

- Trestles (saw horses)

- To support a wing horizontally

 Needles

 Shears

 Sewing thimble/cap

 sewing machine

48
49
AIRCRAFT FABRIC INSTALLATION
 Aircraft fabric installation include the same steps followed in
aircraft fabric recovering.

Installation method
Two basic methods are
1. The Envelope Method
2. The Blanket Method
 1. The Envelope Method

 Method of installing pre-sewn fabric to form

envelope/cover.
 Begin with simplest structure & to complex ones

 General recommended order

 Flaps
 Ailerons
 Tail surfaces
 Wings and then fuselages
 Refer the respective maintenance manual for
detailed procedures.
 2. The Blanket Method
 A method when pre-sewn envelope not available.

 Sew the blanket using one of FAA approved machine sewing

threads & seam methods.
Common Procedures:-
1. Removing the Wrinkles
 Use distilled or de-mineralized water and wet fabric
thoroughly.
 Some tightness will be lost but wrinkles will be removed.

 Caution:

 Water must not run into the structure.

 Do not cut fabric around fitting while wet.
 Fabric shortens while shrinking.
2. Applying the First coat of Dope

 Allow water to dry completely for a maximum of 48hrs.

 Apply fungicidal dope.

 If more than 48hrs is elapsed airborne fungus will

settle on surface.
3. Attaching the Fabric
 Both cotton and linen fabric are normally attached to the
airframe by stringing or stitching and tensioned using
“nitrate” or “butyrate” dope.
 Fabric must be attached to wing ribs in such a way that

 Aerodynamic forces will be transmitted to the structure

and lifting the entire aircraft.
 Three methods of attaching fabric to aircraft structure

A. Lacing (lacing cord)

B. Clipping (wire clips)
C. Screwing (self tapping screws)
FABRIC REPAIR METHODS
REPAIR METHOS
 If the fabric has been damaged extensively, it is usually
impractical and uneconomical to make satisfactory
repairs by sewing and patching.

 Cuts and tears in fabric are sometimes caused by stones

thrown up by the slipstream or wheels, from accidental
damage during ground movement or servicing.

 Damage may also be caused by bird strikes.

METHODS:

 Repair of tears

 Sewed - In repair

 Doped - On repair

 Doped –In panel repair

SEWED-IN REPAIR
 When damage area exceeds 16 inches and the never
exceed speed is greater than 150 MPH.

 The damage is removed and a rectangular or square patch

is sewed to the edges of the cutout.

 A patch is applied over the seams

DOPED-ON REPAIR
Used:

 When VNE < 150 MPH

 And damage is < 16”

DOPED IN PANEL REPAIRS
 If the damage is extensive to be repaired by the doped-on or
sewed-in method
 Can be repaired by removing and replacing the entire
panel
Lacing Cord shall have a minimum breaking strength of 40 lb.
Reinforcing tape should have a minimum 40 lb. resistance without failure.
Machine Thread shall have a minimum breaking strength of 5 lb.
Hand-Sewing Thread shall have a minimum breaking strength of 14 lb.
Seams parallel to the line of flight are preferable; however, Span wise
seams are acceptable.
Lock hand sewing at a maximum of 10 stitch intervals