Sky4 Pilots can offer its commercial customers a highly specialised and tailored service. We provide the highest quality craftsmanship and materials, with an attention to detail that is second to none. Our expert designers use their extensive knowledge and experience to create innovative and customised solutions, ensuring that your aircraft is fitted with the most suitable and advanced parts available.
We have over 18 years of experience within the aviation industry, and our services span a wide variety of materials, ranging from 100% cotton, to PA66 nylons, breathable fabrics, rubber-based materials, and complex laminated products. Our team is highly skilled in working to exact specifications in order to produce the most reliable and robust parts, and our commitment to our customers ensures that their product requirements are met to the highest standards.
Commercial Aviation:
Turbine/Fan intake Covers
Exhaust Covers
Engine Transportation Covers
Boarding & Cargo Nets
Engine Hoist Lifting Slings
Wheel Covers for static use
Maintenance Matting
Instrument covers:
Angle of Attack sensors
Outside Air Temperature sensors
Pitot Covers
Military Aviation:
Rotor Hub Covers for main and tail rotors
Airframe Covers for Rotor Wing and Fixed Wing
Weapon storage covers
Instrument pod Covers
Engine Intake and Exhaust Covers
Civilian Applications:
Handling bags for monitoring equipment
Cutting parts of specialist clothing Items
Commercial Aviation Product Description:
Turbine/Fan intake Covers: Made from a PA66 Nylon our covers are designed to keep out the elements, debris, animals and birds. Each cover is made to the specific engine and Nacelle arrangement to ensure a good fit for all the attachment and adjustment points. Any residual moisture in the engine is allowed to wick away from the cover and establish ambient humidity. High quality fittings, hooks, adjusters, bungee and stitching provides a long-lasting cover, available with personal branding and identification PN’s; REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT printed across the cover.
Exhaust Covers: Made from PA66 they benefit from a higher melting point 240+ degrees making them ideally suited to exhaust applications. Depending on application they can be an easily removable covered foam plug or a complete single membrane cover. With REMOVE BFORE FLIGHT ribbons attached.
Engine Transportation Covers: Designed for transportation these are more robust in design and can cover the cradle as well as the engine itself. Keeping all the weather and moving contaminated air out of the engine and its associated attachment points while changing locations off the aircraft.
Boarding and Cargo Nets: Built to the required specification using high quality webbing and with a very strong stitch, available in orange.
Engine Hoist Slings: When a turbine is removed form the pylon our hoist protection slings stop the chains and mechanical equipment from coming into contact with the airframe and turbine itself. Using padding and fire retardant material the slings stop direct contact and shield the delicate structures from any impact or abrasion.
Wheel Covers: Tyres and brakes often get forgotten about while sitting out on the ramp or by the side of a runway; Ultra Violet light takes its toll on tyre rubber and degrades the rubber compounds. Brakes are left open to the elements and can cause callipers to seize or become stuck to a disc. A set of wheel covers help to keep all this in check, made using a breathable Nylon fabric with easy clip fasteners.
Maintenance Inlet Mats: Great for carrying out inspections, protecting the Nacelle from pressure points and tools alike.
Instrument Covers Product Description:
AOA Covers: Angle of Attack sensors are vital to the modern flying system, our covers are made for easy installation and release using hook and loop fasteners in addition to pins, with boldly printed REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT ribbons attached.
OAT/TAT Covers: Outside Air Temperature/ Total Air Temperature probes need to be protected from insects and dirt particles, our covers are made for easy installation and release using hook and loop fasteners in addition to pins, with boldly printed REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT ribbons attached.
Pitot Covers: Designed for a snug fit and easy application our covers help to keep the insects and weather out while on the ground; a long REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT ribbon makes sure they are not forgotten.
Military Aviation Product Description:
Rotor Hub Covers: for main and tail rotor hubs. Each hub cover is designed from a pattern or from drawings to form the exact shape necessary to keep the Ice, weather, dust and small aggregates out of all those attachments and vital moving mechanisms while on deployment. Easy release collar clips around the hub roots help the ground crew to uninstall quickly.
Airframe Covers: As with our civilian designs we can cover any part or whole airframe with a cover system designed specifically for the application, Rotor or fixed wing using Military spec materials and conventions.
Weapon storage Covers: We can make covers for ordinance to aid outside storage and transportation.
Instrument Pod Covers: Terrain following cameras & Weapon System Targeting pods, these vital systems can be covered while in deployment and not in use, keeping sand, dust or snow clear of the equipment.
Engine Intake and Exhaust Covers: As with our commercial airline covers each one is designed and manufactured to an exact specification and drawing. Patterns can be made directly from the airframe if drawings are unavailable or classified.
General Aviation Product Description:
Sky4 Pilots isn’t just about aircraft, we offer the following services to any business or project beyond the airport or airfield. We supply parts for the clothing industry and make specialised carrying equipment for sensitive measuring equipment.
Cutting Service
We can lay up in multiple layers and cut shapes in thier thousands using band knives and band saws ensuring accuracy and form consistency. You can either supply or we will develop the pattern or template for use. We mark out shapes on the layup table then they are transferred over to the band saw where they are cut in varying thicknesses. Larger or more simple shapes can be cut using the band knife. These tools work well with most materials however some more plastic based materials tend to fuse when used in this way and need a different cutting approach.
Prototyping
When bringing a new product to the market new ideas and shapes need to tried out to see if they work, especially at the pre-production stage. If you have a set of CADCAM shapes we can turn them into a workable product, alternatively we can create the prototype directly from an object by developing our own patterns (see below). Prototypes can be mocked up in a simple low cost lining or a material closer to the finished specification. The finished item can then be evaluated against the initial brief.
Pattern Making
We create, scale, grade and make patterns. These patterns are made for production purposes and hold all the detail and information a machinist needs to create the finished article. We take a template or a CADCAM drawing and then develop it into a workable pattern that can be duplicated and applied for production.
Short Production Runs
Being a small business makes us ideal for accommodating small or limited production runs, especially for complex designs or designs that involve integrating with multiple and specialist parts. Our background in fashion design, Aeronautical Engineering, manufacturing for fashion is a great combination for creating a workable product on a small scale.
Product Branding and Identification
We have an in-house ECOSOL CMYK large format printer cutter so are capable to integrating Identification and Branding detail through heat press, applying directly to a materials surface. We can accept most file types from a MAC or PC and turn them into a cut file or a higher resolution printable file. ECOSOL 3 inks have a high UV resistance and provide good longevity – even for prolonged outdoor use. Heat Press removes the need for stitching on additional identification panels. We can also Barcode and RFID Chip on request for those more critical items.