Oratex6000 Approved for Certified Aircraft by Transport Canada
By Lars Gleitsman, Sales and Technical Support, Oratex
January 2016
In the April 2014 issue we mentioned Oratex aircraft fabric, originally developed in Germany, and a dealer in Quebec. Apparently the dealer responsible for Canada is now based in Alaska. This has significance for several reasons including the Valdez STOL connection.—Ed.
We do already have a whole bunch of Oratex customers in Canada. I enjoy some of the products of Canadian experimental aviation myself, such as a Falconar Avia F-11A (heavily modified; it does fit my 6-foot, 4-inch frame!) and a Christavia MK4 project. I live in Anchorage, Alaska, but we here (Paul Mills and I, as salesmen and tech support, and Oliver Straten as a factory-trained installer of our products, if someone wants that service) are the Canadian distributors as well. As the product is so very different in every way from products that require painting and the toxic environment they can create, the need for tech support is of paramount importance, and we have been involved in it from the very beginning.
ORATEX6000 Is Now Certified in Canada
In accordance with its policy associated with the review of foreign STCs, Transport Canada has issued Letters of Acceptance for our European STCs. This means that all subtypes of the type such as PA-22-108-Colt, PA-22-135, PA-22-150, PA-22-160, PA-22S-135, PA-22S-150, and PA-22S-160, etc. are included and covered. Same with PA-18, etc. Also covered are all existing Maules and the Air Tractor 250, 300, 301, 302, and the AT-400A, which have fabric-covered flight-control surfaces.
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Most Innovative Product Award More STCs
In Europe, the number of European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) STCs and German LBA approvals of Oratex for standard category aircraft has increased to 30, meaning that 30 different types of aircraft are legal to be covered in Oratex now under EASA rules. Furthermore, there are about 20 types of airplanes where Oratex approvals are under active evaluation.
Multiple Valdez and EAA Oshkosh Winners
At the famous Alaskan Valdez STOL competition, Frank Knapp won in his class for the third time in a row with the yellow Oratex-covered Lil Cub. (He also placed first in Oshkosh last year during the “friendly STOL demonstration”.) Lil Cub is a homebuilt designed around a J3 fuselage clone and SuperCub clone wings and tail feathers. In a second category in Valdez, Bobby Breeden won with a brand-new proprietary design, the gloss-black “Glacier Cub,” also covered in Oratex6000. The Glacier Cub, designed by Bob Breeden, Jon Bush, Dan Dufault, and Bobby Breeden, is a Super Cub experimental that is absolutely maximized for STOL. It has everything and anything, including a super-strong four-cylinder engine and the best landing gear we have ever seen. Yet it all comes in a reasonably lightweight package, made possible by the use of Oratex fabric.
Solar Impulse 2 Sets Records
The first long- range-capable solar-powered aircraft, Solar Impulse, was completely Oratex-covered and only viable because of the massive Oratex weight savings. The new larger Solar Impulse 2 that is circumnavigating the globe on solar power right now is completely Oratex-covered as well.
New Color
Oratex/Better Aircraft Fabric has also come out with a new color: Corsair Blue in the 6000 bush-flying grade, as a completely opaque, nontranslucent covering.
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You can call Lars Gleitsman at 907-229-6792 for further details.
