On Jul 7, 6:33*pm, "Vaughn Simon"
wrote:
"Jay Maynard" wrote in message

...

The flip side: what happens when it collects hangar rash?

* *So who has a hanger? *Perhaps it is because I started out in sailplanes, but
I would not be comfortable parking a glass bird out in the sun for years at a
time, especially one finished in jellcoat.

Repairing aluminum is well known; repairing composites is not.

* *Sorry, I can't agree. *I have seen some torn up sailplanes repaired so well
you can't see where anything ever happened. *It all a matter of finding the
right repair station.

Agreed, repairs on the non-structural parts is not any more of an
issue than repairing the non-structural parts of any other aircraft.
Structural parts are a problem rather it is a metal or composite. In
many ways, the composite is much more forgiving of hangar-rash and
even more severe problems because the damage is generally much more
localized. I had a bird strike in a 182 that resulted in having to
replace the entire wing. The same on a composite would have been a
localized repair. I have seen composite planes repaired from hard
landings including one that flipped that would have totaled metal
birds.