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Basic Retractable
Simultaneous Evolution: Retractable Awnings in Europe and the US
Awnings have been common for more than 2000 years; retractable awnings have been around for almost 150 years. While the history of using awnings stretches far back in Europe and retractable awnings are commonly used there today, they’re rare in the United States – despite the fact that retractable awnings were invented in the US. This uneven adoption has led to an exposure of design options in Europe – intricate frames, new types of retractable frames, bold colors, and luscious patterns – while America, treating awnings as a practical afterthought, has stayed more conservative.
A Quick History
Some form of awnings has been around for millennia, starting in Egypt and the Middle East and spreading across the Roman Empire. Most of those were fixed canopies of mats, skins, or fabric bolts hung over poles. In the mid-1800s, shop owners began using movable awnings, which simply bunched up the fabric when it was taken down. In the latter part of the century, they began rolling awnings on a tube, cleanly retracting them and keeping the fabric safe. With minor variation, this is the same basic design used today on lateral arm retractable awnings.
Retractable awnings were quick to catch on in Europe, from open air markets to apartments and homes. In fact, the classic lateral arm awning is called a California Style Awning in Europe – and a European Style Awning in the US. Now, the retractable awning market is decidedly driven by Europe. Millions of retractable awnings are sold there annually and are found on the majority of homes and businesses, even being considered in the architectural design process. The highest quality manufacturers, most innovative new designs, and emerging trends are coming from European companies.
By comparison, the awning market in America has been limited to mainly commercial buildings. Substantially fewer awnings are sold in the United States yearly – less than 50,000 – so the market, according to the Industrial Fabric Association International, is only about 2% saturated. There’s room for a change.
Different Reasons for Using Awnings
Various factors have come into play for why Europe has, for nearly a century, been consistently integrating retractable awnings into architectural plans. Many of the initial reasons were cultural; prevalent open air markets had contributed to a long history of fixed awning use, so it was a natural transition to easier to use and longer-lasting retractable awnings.
More practically, though, the widespread use of retractable awnings comes down to cooling and energy efficiency. Europe has very high energy costs and, because of many old homes and flats, most residences do not have air-conditioning systems installed. Therefore, European homeowners have had an imperative to find inexpensive, effective cooling and efficiency products – and one of the most effective methods for controlling interior heat is retractable awnings.
In addition to the practical reasons, Europe has had a long aesthetic tradition with awnings, so retractable awnings are a natural part of any home design, and that organically led into creative and adventurous designs, which made using awnings even more appealing.
The US, on the other hand, has had historically cheap and accessible energy, with widespread air conditioning and central air systems. Combined with suburb-motivated home designs, neither energy nor aesthetics has given a compelling reason to include retractable awnings on homes as a standard practice. Energy shortages and price increases in the 1970s, though, did begin bringing retractable awnings to the popular mind as a functional solution for energy efficiency.
Differences in Style
The different reasons for retractable awning use in Europe and the US have produced different emphases on style. Because awnings had a stylistic influence in European history which transitioned to efficiency uses, European awning fabrics and designs tend to be more dramatic and flamboyant. For example, European fabric lines average about 400 fabric designs, while American lines average 200. Color choices in Europe tend to be lighter and brighter.
American homeowners, approaching retractable awnings as a functional addition to a house, without the stylistic background, tend to be conservative, choosing fabrics in blacks and grays in sedate stripes and staying with more traditional frame styles.
That is starting to change, though. More and more American consumers are asking about vibrant colors or patterns – like florals and even paisleys – when they look at awning fabrics, and more exotic designs are starting to come over from Europe, at least for high-end use. As energy efficiency becomes more common, it could become more natural to look for stylish, as well as functional, solutions, which will broaden the retractable awning market even more.
What the Future Holds
As energy efficiency continues to be a growing issue for American homeowners, retractable awnings will be a new opportunity to explore. Based on the experiences and widespread effectiveness observed in Europe, there are exciting changes in store for American markets in the next few years: new architectural design integration with new construction, wildly expanding fabric choices and styles, new retractable awning designs, and natural energy efficiency.
About the Author
Budget Retractable Awnings sells quality / long lasting window awnings and patio covers for a resonable price.http://www.budget-awnings.com
What questions to ask when shopping for a used airplane?
I know about the basic ones -- like SMOH, TTAF, damage history ... but what other info needs to be "extracted" from the seller? What do you need to see as "proof" of the maintenance/damage history of the aircraft? I know logs are sometimes fudged with airplanes that have shady pasts.
This would be a retractable gear single piston engine general aviation airplane.
I have owned 7 aircraft over the past 23 years. It would take a whole book to explain how to properly go about buying one. I could easily spend the next 2-3 hours explaining the things you should consider. You would do well to hire some professional help. Here are the bare minimums in a nutshell for the USA:
1) do a professional title search though AOPa or a similar organization.
2) look for complete logbooks and maintenance paperwork (particularly Form 337's) and ownership information from the day the aircraft left the factory. Also look for a solid paper trail of receipts, particularly form 8130's on repaired or replaced parts. If the plane was imported from another country, it is going to take a lot more vigilance and research.
3) It is good idea to request the FAA registration and airworthiness files on the aircraft (assuming you are in the USA) and compare them to the records in the owners posession. Discrepancies and omissions can often be uncovered in this way. This is not expensive but takes a bit of time. Also check the FAA and / or NTSB accident and incident database for both serial number and registration number of the aircraft (registrations can change). See http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/Query.asp
4) Get a list of the current airworthiness directives (AD's), Service Bullrtins (SB's) and Service Letters (SL's) on the make and model of airplane you are looking at and verify that all the work has been performed. It's best to enlist a mechanic with inspection authorization (A&P-IA) to do this for you. Hire same to do a physical "pre-buy" inspection of the aircraft. This will probably cost around $500, but is well worth it. Sometimes you can get the owner to split the cost with you, especially if something undisclosed turns up that would be a deal-breaker.
5) Get the names and contact information of previous owners and shops who have maintained the plane and interview them. How the aircraft has been flown and maintained is an important consideration. A flight school airplane or one used under particularly hard conditions obviously receives more abuse than one owned by a private or corporate owner. A lot of engine starts and landings (if they can be determined) relative to total flight time is often a bad omen.
6) Be aware that TSMOH, TTAF etc are not always good indicators of condition. A relatively "high time" airplane that has flown daily in the hands of a professional pilot and has been subject to a continuous routine of 50 and 100 hour inspections is often in better condition than a low time aircraft that flies very little and only gets annual inspections. Calendar time elapsed since engine overhaul is often at least as important as "tach time" or "hobbs time" that is in the logbooks. Oil changes every 25 to 50 hours is a must. Also look at time since overhaul of the major accessories.
7) If it is a repaint, look carefully. It is easy to hide corrosion and other problems with a fresh coat of paint. Where the airplane has been kept (outdoors, shaded, hangared) and what climate it has lived in can be important indicators of condition.
The name of the game is "buyer beware". It is up to you to determine condition and airworthiness. The seller is not obligated to disclise information, although an honest one will be completely up fron about everything.
9) Do not take anyone's word for anything. If it isn't documented, it is heresay. And get everything in writing before you sign any agreements or hand over any money. It's easy to get burned if you are not careful.
10) It's often said that the 2 happiest days in an aircraft owners life are the day they buy and the day they sell. Be sure the reason why someone is selling is not because the plane is full of problems.
Retractable - The Tangible User Interface Instrument - Basic 2 Demo