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Extreme customization

When it comes to protective coverings for light aircraft, one name appears to be by far the most well-known: Bruce's Custom Covers. They made the canvas cover that came with my plane (although it was originally made for a different plane, based on the N-number that's embroidered on it), and they made the engine cowl plugs and pitot tube cover that also came with the plane. They make an empennage cover as well, so I emailed them to see if they could make one for my plane. The big issue with mine is that it has the spin kit, so it has the extensions on the stabilator, and a ventral fin under the tail. Both of these would interfere with fitting a cover based on the pictures on their web site.

They got back to me and said they agreed the extensions would be a problem. They asked me for some photos so, when I was out there yesterday dealing with the bird, I took some photos of the tail. I sent them to Bruce's this morning and they responded to me a short time ago.

Well, the short story is that, as suspected, the standard cover will not fit. While crafting a cover that could work may be possible, it would be considerably more complex and would cost more. They would also have to figure out how to get the cover to fit around the ventral fin, or else it will be tented over the fin.

I'm going to think about it. The most important function is to block those holes. Some sort of plug, similar to the ones for the engine cowl inlets, would probably be sufficient. I may suggest it to them to see if they could make a set.

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