mobyal

Yep. I'm with you. I haven't got an AUW yet (still fiddling w/ the DuBro 1/3 Cub wheels and axles and trying to make the motor work), but the batteries mounted on the tray weigh 2 1/4 lbs by themselves.

bikerbc

My AUW with a G26 is 16.5 lbs...I am a happy camper with that...I expected to be heavier...

G.P.

My Feedback: (1)

That sounds better!

pldawg

My Feedback: (6)

is that with fuel in it or do you guys add that later? Never flown fuel before.

pldawg

My Feedback: (6)

weight isn't that big of a deal I guess but I am just trying to add it all up and there must be a pretty significant weight difference in the bare airframes.  If I take out the following to try and figure out what the airframe weighs:

bikerbc

My AUW is dry weight ..No fuel but everything else ready to fly...

bikerbc

I have I/2 of the interior kit in mine but it doesn't add much weight ..

fly360

bikerbc.....post some pics when done. I am starting mine next week, looks like fun. What glue are you using? I was thinking about using canopy glue.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

We also call that ZFW in full scale.
(Zero Fuel Weight)

bikerbc

Maybe I should reweigh mine .. I had to convert from grams and since I had the stroke I have a heck of a time with numbers I thought I did it rite .. I used a metric converter calculator ,, 16.5 does sound a bit lite ..I will give it another weigh as soon as my bench is open...

bikerbc

I have reweighed my plane and come up with a minor weight difference .. Last time I didn't have the seats or pilot in and I only had a lite bench test battery in it .. This time I had it loaded ..My G 26 weighs 54 oz 's ...It balances the plane with no lead added...

bikerbc

Well I reweighed my plane and this time I got 7800 grams which comes to 17.16 lbs .. Last time I did not have the pilot or the seats and I might not have had the interior kit in I don't rember but that weighs next to nothing anyway , Last time I just had a lite bench 1100 mah bench batt in for servo testing and this time the perm batt a 2300 life is in there..Anyhow the pilot and seats make up a little bit so I wasent off by too much..Amazing how every little bit adds up..I am still pretty happy with the weight...It will be a different story with floats I bet...I have a set of fiberglass floats that I bought installed on a 1/4 scale space walker..They are way solider feeling floats than the hanger 9 ones...I don't know who made them...I am thinking about putting them on my Sig Cub...I would like to know more about them...I sure would like it if the hanger 9 floats were as well built as these ones are..I have had two replacments sent to me now and both are damaged in shipping..I don't know if I should try again or not...The last one is not too bad .. It has two holes in it but I don't feel anything crushed on the inside..The last one had stuff ratteling around inside it , little bits of wood and kind of a white clear looking glue stuff broken off someplace...

roknHS

Biker,
If it were me, I'd send those floats back to Horizon and get my money back.............for the money they cost, you should get something quality in the box.

I always had it in the back of my mind, I'd pick up a set of those floats in the future. I changed my mind........................

bikerbc

roknHS I so agree with you . I feel quite ripped off , These things are junk in my book...I am glad that others have joined in here and agreed with me that the floats need some beefing up...I don't like to bash anyone's product espially Horizion who has been so good to deal with , but they need to do something with these things to make them more durable...Up here we use our floats , maybe some guys only use them occasionally and they might be okay for that but if you use them steady they need to be strong and these floats are fragile . Very fragile...They have spent a bunch of time making them beautiful and very little time on making them durable as I see it...I don't want a set of floats that I need to check for water leaks continually as I am flying....I am wondering how GP is making out with the foam ..

bikerbc

I have started to glass my floats .. I put a 4.5 oz. layer of cloth on the back of the floats and I will let that set up and then move on to the front half .. So far so good...I hope it makes the floats feel more solid .. The bottom felt almost like you could put your finger thru if you really pushed...

G.P.

My Feedback: (1)

Family has had to take the front seat lately, so I haven't done much. I haven't been able to find any of the professional 2 part sfoam, so I'm just going to go with the home grade foam. My next step is going to be to get a can and spray out approx how much I will need for the front half of the floats. I want to test how much it expands, and also how much it weighs.

If it isn't going to add too much weight, then I think I have come up with a way to foam the floats that won't cause any damage. I plan on filling the front half of the floats in three "sections". I'll do the middle first, and then the front and aft portions. This way the foam will have somewhere to go if I spray in too much. The front portion will be the only real tricky spot as the foam can only come out of the small access hole if I put too much in. I'm not too concerned about absolutely filling the front though. I think that the keel area, and just ahead of it, requires the most reinforcement. If required I can then add foam to rear of the floats to balance them. At the moment I need to add weight to the front of the floats, so if luck is on my side the foam will make them balance out. I have checked and it doesn't look like I will need to cut any additional access holes if I get a can of foam that comes with an extension tube for the spout.

The only issue may be foam expanding into the servo area. I'm not running any servos, so it won't cause me any problems...but I'm sure that a Dremel with a router bit would make short work of any foam that goes where it's not supposed to.

Rellic

This company is in Burnaby BC. I order most of My fiberglass materials from them as shipping is very reasonable and Fast.

http://www.fibertek.ca/smoothon_foams.htm

Above is a link to the two component foam you want.

Brian T.

G.P.

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for the link Brian!

What is the advantage of the 2 part stuff, is it worth the added time and cost to get it?

bikerbc

Thanks for the update GP..I am interested..

Rellic

The home hardware aerosol "stuff" is two part as well, the two parts are mixed in the nozzle.
The advantage is you have more control and no nozzle to clog after the first squirt. Many partial cans are tossed due to clogged nozzle.
Brian T.

G.P.

My Feedback: (1)

Sweet, I didn't know that the home stuff was two part as well. I would actually prefer the nozzle to get the stuff in the floats without having to cut any extra access holes. I've got a few places around the house that I can use any partial cans, so it shouldn't be too much of a waste.

bikerbc

Brian how would you get that stuff in the float with it expanding like crazy? What do you mix it in? It sounds like it might be hard to work with...How much would you need per float. I think you could figure on a cubic ft. per float. They are less than that but that gives you wiggle room...I would like to use the stuff that is the litest which of course expands the most and would be the hardest to work with .. Maybe I could come over and you could give me a hands on ? I have glassed the bottom of my floats and they are much better now... I think like GP says the front bottom of the float is the most important and we need weight up front anyway so if a person just filled the front bottom and maybe a little at the back .

pldawg

My Feedback: (6)

Rellic

Ken I have a sleeve of 6fld.oz calibrated(millimeters & fluid ounces)waxed paper cups that I purchased from Fiber-Tek through the link I posted earlier. I mix all My resins andUrethane Paints in thesecups. I have no foam here now but if you get some I would help. Mixthe two componentsfromtwo measured cups into one cup stir and pour in,cut a waxed paper cup and roll it into a funnel type cone inserted into your access hatch to avoidspillage.The mixed components have the viscosity of pancake syrup before it starts to expand so pouring is not that dificult.Products change from supllier to supplier, batch to batch, humidity and ambiant air This is why I suggest purchasing acouple of pints that way you can experiment with batch time, pour limits, expansion rate and volume of. Even with My experience in using this stuff I still do a test batch before any application so I know what Iam working with.
Mix a 2fld.oz batch and when it is cured cut a sq. in. cube and weigh it.The last product I worked with had an expansion ratefrom 1fld.oz of each componentmaking a 2fld.oz batchexpanded to over fill a 12fld.oz container forming a mushroom like cap on top of the 12fld.oz can. I never bothered to weigh it or worry about it bulging the product as I was pouring it into fiberglassed wind turbine blades that were still in the bolted together mold and any over fill just came out the vent holes to assure a full blade.

I found the aerosol cans nozzles clog after the first squirt so if you do not use all the contents in one push of the nozzlethe nozzleclogs and you cannot use what is left in the can. that stuff is made to draft seal windows, doors, HVAC systems and other domesticinsulating projects. The stuff the pros use comeswith a box full ofextra nozzles, I have yet to see the hardware store, home handymancans with extra nozzles. but who am I and what do I know eh. Maybe they now have extra nozzles so home handy guys don't have to keep buying more and more cans.

Brian T.

Rellic

You guys can also go to Fiber-Tek's home page http://www.fibertek.ca/index.htm and from the side bar look at "Product Bulletins" in there you will find instruction on how to make a "Plug" how to make a "Mold" how to use fiberglass resins, Epoxy resins, and even "Pour in Place Foam" http://www.fibertek.ca/Bulletins/pour_in_place_foam.pdf Pretty nifty what you can find on the interweb eh.

Brian T.