Paint & Upholstry Latest Topics

Ceramic Coating

Sun, 26 Nov 2023 15:45:40 +0000

When I was in Chocen for the build and flight training, I met a current owner at the airport and he was extolling the virtues of a ceramic coating. I am planning on doing this to my plane as soon as it arrives. Does anyone have any experience with the ceramic coatings? An more specifically having it applied to the VL3?

Belt-end Spaghetti Remedy

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:57:47 +0000

Army calls it STRAC, the nautical term is Bristol, whatever--loose belt end spaghetti has bugged me and now I've squared them away with elastic loop "keepers."

I got mine from Hooker Harness but any will do. Should come with the belts.

Bruce's Custom Cover for VL3 Canopy

Sun, 12 May 2024 23:50:42 +0000

I plan to keep my VL3 in a hanger but wanted to have at least a canopy cover to protect the interior when parked outside away from home. Bruce's Custom Covers offers a VL3 canopy cover for about $500 +/- depending on optional registration number imprinting and shipping. Much lower price point than the $2,300+ full-aircraft cover from JMB, so perhaps a good solution for occasional use while traveling. Lead time is 3-4 weeks; I went ahead and ordered one. Will report back with photos and comments about quality and fit.

Extra cushion for the interior seats.

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 23:31:23 +0000

For those that are curious, here is a picture of the extra cushion you can order with your VL3. it great for those of us that have “vertically challenged” co-pilots! JMB does a great job and you can hardly tell it’s a separate piece. It just Velcro’s into the standard seat and is easy to remove if you don’t need it.

916iS Limited Paint

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 06:32:53 +0000

JMB offers two "limited" paint designs available only with the 915iS and 916iS engine options. The 915iS limited design is the famous checkerboard racing scheme. The 916iS limited design is the "pixel" or hexagon scheme.

I ordered the 916iS engine option and the 916iS Limited paint scheme, although it's not required--you can still choose any of the other paint schemes. The silver and lime green design exhibited at Friedrichshafen AERO 2023 was too loud for my taste, so I worked with François Stelandre, the head of design at JMB, to tailor the color pallet during my factory visit. We started with the Long Beach Blue from my car, kept the two-tone silver, and added Moon White accents. For the interior, we went with cognac leather, which is elegant (and popular) in its own right, but especially striking next to the blue paint.

The resulting paint design and a photo of the color swatches from François' design studio are attached. The paint diagram doesn't do the colors justice. They're metallic, deeply saturated, and "pop" in person.

François is excellent. (He is French after all, so art is in his blood.) Tell him what you like, favorite colors, etc., and he'll work with you time come up with a design.

What paint does JMB use on the VL3?

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 16:16:18 +0000

My cousin builds fiberglass boats and was curious what paint JMB uses on VL3s, so I asked the factory and figured I'd share the information here for anyone who might be curious.

JMB uses the PPG Quickline paint system with a base color followed by a clearcoat. The factory emphasized that all automotive paint brands are possible, presumably to color match a favorite car.

The paint has always looked great when I've seen it in person. Deeply saturated colors with a glossy finish.

Custom Paint Scheme Inspired by F-16 Fighter Jet

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 04:23:27 +0000

Hot off the assembly line, check out this latest custom paint design by François Stelandre. Inspired by an F-16 fighter with yellow trim. Also reminds me of some WW2-era fighters and the bright yellow/red colors evoke racing--all appropriate for the VL3.