captinnitro

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Hi what’s the best and strongest way to cover a wood model? I am considering using carbon fiber. Cost is not a factor. I like to keep it very light and strong. (It’s going to be a belly dragger) I have shaved and drilled all the formers and ribs, Making the fuselage very weak. I am thinking of sheathing the model with balsa then s glassing or better yet using some kind of carbon fiber material. Any suggestion will be appreciated!!!

Bob

saramos

Carbon fiber requires a lot of resin. It does give great strength for it's weight. It's still too heavy for this type of application. I would recommend using carbon fiber only for reinforcing critical spots. For covering the plane, I would suggest doing a traditional glassing using 3/4 oz cloth.

Scott

captinnitro

My Feedback: (4)

Thanks. So glass it is. A friens suggested laminate thin glass with carbon tissue .

saramos

When I came across some . 5 oz carbon tissue, I made some tests wing sections to see if I could use it as a subsitute for glass cloth. I did some carbon tissue tests with lacquer and epoxy. Both came out adding more than double the weight compared to a control sample of .5 oz glass/epoxy. The problem is that the carbon tissue, though light, is fairly thick, and soaks up resin like a sponge. It may work for sheeted foam wings that are vaccume bagged, but as a subsitute for traditional glass, the results are heavy. The other issue is that since the strands in carbon tissue are not oriented, the tissue is not as strong as a carbon weave fabric would be. As for carbon fabric, the lightest carbon weaves that I know of, are in the 2 oz+ range. I have no experience with carbon fabrics.

Scott