I'm planning on using neodymium magnets to hold on the hatch on my newest plane. I am wonder if 1/2"x1/4"x1/8" neodymium magnets being right next to the battery and a servo wire would negitively effect anything. If so how far from the magnets should the battery and wires be. I know some others have done the same and not had a probelems however I'm not sure if my wire will be closer than theirs.
Thanks
Dan

You would probably be better off using two short Ø.25, 4 pound magnets. One on each side of the hatch.

Magnets will not affect anything electrically.

Many aircraft, including some of the smaller electric powered planes, use magnets to hold things down.. hatch covers, canope's, whatever. And none of them, that I am aware of, have had a crash that pointed to the magnets intefering with anything.

CGr.

Thanks guy. Holding the hatch with magnets is going to look really cool.

Wouldn't that make it a little nose heavy?

Only if you inserted them into your nose.

Practice flying without your canopy. It's not hard to do at all.

You will appreciate the practice time WHEN your magnetic canopy comes-off in flight.

IMHO, it's a poor design...period. There have been many thousands of succesful flights using magnetic canopies, but I have never seen a properly built and installed conventional canopy come clean off, while I have seen MANY magnetic canopy failures. They fail in every type of aircraft, every type of flying style and every size. In order to get adequate holding power, you would need almost 100 times the weight of a simple blind-nut and 4-40.

It's just a bad idea, no matter how 'clean' it looks on the ground.

Its actually a hatch not a canopy. Your right. I've heard of one guy who had his fly off(he still landed okay just need a new hatch) but it was because he was using magnets that are way to weak(not neodymium". Considering the strength of the magnets, the low weight of the hatch. and the already tight fit I think it should work fine. Any other way I have seen to hold the hatch on is very ugly or to much of a pain since you have to remove it to take off the wings. I agree that magnets are probably more prone to failure but why must they be 100x stronger than a blind nut

g forces and wind factor.I had a hood fly open on me on a car that a merchanic did not latch properly after an oil change drove 6 miles at 30 mph no problem but while accelerating to get on an interstate at about 45 mph the air got under it and folded it all the way back breaking the hinges,windshield and afterwards the hood itself was flimsy like wet caedboard