Covering a blimp in record time

February 8, 2006

FABRIC WORK - ABC A60+ BLIMP

As Maintenance Manager of The Lightship Group, I began the task of re-covering the A60+ blimp gondola myself, and I thoroughly enjoyed the work.  Unfortunately it was a painfully slow process and we couldn't afford the time, so we decided to call in the experts.

Tony Markl came highly recommended to our company by PolyFiber, as they didn't have the necessary workforce available to do the fabric work themselves.  Tony was to lead a team of two for this work; his assistant: an 18-year-old fabric worker with limited experience, whom he had never met.

Tony was very gracious when reviewing the re-covering work I had already undertaken; indeed I was very proud of it myself.  But when he and his assistant got going, I soon realised who the experts were—my work was okay, but theirs was on another level.  And Tony proved himself not just a skilled worker, but also a great teacher for his young assistant—and for me.

I was allowed to help with the re-covering work, and it was a great learning process for me.  I was in awe of the efficiency and accuracy of the work being undertaken and was delighted to be a part of it.  Twelve hours a day, six and a half days a week ... the job was completed in record time, much quicker than we could ever have envisaged.

On a personal level, the working day flies by with Tony's highly entertaining stories of all aspects of his life.  He's also the only person I know who can say "hello", "goodbye" and "one beer, please" in about 30 languages! 

Mitch Whitlock
Director, Aircraft Maintenance
The Lightship Group 
Winchester, UK

Tailwheel training  Fabric re-covering  Fabric manual
Aircraft delivery  Testimonials  Links