I have been looking at making some composite ailerons as an alternative to solid balsa ones (which tend to warp, are often heavy and come in limited sizes). I was thinking of using rohacell or depron foam with balsa leading and trailing edges, with the taper sanded into the foam. The skin will be vacuum bagged on using epoxy. I was initially thinking of using carbon fiber because of its stiffness but a quick look at CF prices showed why it is only used where really needed, it's way more expensive than I can justify at this point. So that leaves me with boring old fiberglass. I have glassed my share of things and have no concerns about bagging the ailerons, but I have no feel for how much cloth and what weight I should be using for this application. My gut feel is that a couple layers of 2oz cloth should be lots for 40 and 60 sized models that are being powered by typical sport engines (ie - no Nelson or Jett monsters).

Can anyone confirm my thoughts on the construction methods and how much glass to use? Any other tips/experience/guidance is most welcome.


Thanks,
Mark