Protecting the seaplane from the Alabama sun

The Alabama sun can be brutal. We have temperatures into the 100s sometimes for days from July through September. It is not a dry heat like Phoenix. This is a wet and sticky heat. Our plexiglass windows deteriorate in the sun. The UV rays break down the polymers and make the glass cloudy and eventually the plastic will craze and look almost shattered.




Our avionics and our bodies don't care much for heat either. UV rays also attack our upholstery and interior plastics. I use a cabin cover which I bought from Bruce's Custom Covers at http://www.aircraftcovers.com.%20these/ are very durable and easy to put on and take off. I have tried other brands which can be cheaper, but they were not as sturdy and they fell apart after just a few years.




The covers protect all of the glass in the plane as well as reducing the internal temperatures. I suspect it even helps prevent hail damage to the windows by providing a barrier. I have one of these covers for the Twin Comanche as well ,and when I have to park the plane outside for even a few hours, I install the cover to keep the plane from getting too hot during the warm months. I still wish for a hangar, but at $350-$400 vs $50,000 for a hangar, as well as easy on and off, the cover just has too many plusses.