Originally Posted by
cub builder
Mostly cause it's not what they have been using all along, so is unfamiliar. If I was needing to recover my SuperCub Clone, I would certainly want to evaluate Oratex as a potential cover for it. For me, one of the key components of this system is that it already has a base color as part of the fabric, so all you have to do for paint is spray the trim colors and paint the metal parts. That's a whole lot less painting to be done at the hangar and a lot less aggravation for my hangar neighbors. But I would have to add it up and see what the price point would be vs. working with either traditional dopes or Stewart system.
Another criticism is that the longevity of the Oratex fabric is an unknown. Much like certificated engines vs auto engines debate, we have many decades of experience with 10s of thousands of aircraft with traditional dopes, Polyfiber, and urethane finishes. Oratex makes claims of good longevity, and I have no reason to doubt them, but there simply aren't any planes out there with 30 and 40 year old Oratex, so nobody knows how well it's going to hold up to real world conditions. Recovering your plane is a huge investment of time and money to bet on an unknown. So Oratex doesn't get an immediate acceptance by all. But it does have it's up side and certainly shows good potential.