ELAPOR Foam
 

Hello, i am about to buy the new high wing trainer "Magister" made by Multiplex. It is made of Elapor foam and the company claims that it is a very tough material and can take a lot of punishment. However, i thik that the toughest material around is EPP foam and Elapor (Arcel in the US) cannot compare to it. Any ideas of what really Elapor foam is , how tough is it and is it as good as EPP? Thank you.

RE: ELAPOR Foam
 

Elapor may very well be EPP by another name. Certainly it is very good for surviving crashes and it is very tough. I don't know much about Arcel.

-David

RE: ELAPOR Foam
 

ELAPOR and ARCEL are not EPP.

EPP (Expanded Polypropylene) stands on its own as the toughest, most resilient foam, great in compression, will tear in tension. Needs strapping tape to carry the tension loads. Downside is it is difficult to mould.

Arcel is a composite of EPS (Styrofoam) 70%, and PE (Polyethylene) 30%.

Elapor is probably similar but its mix is not revealed.

Both of these are a bit softer in compression than EPP, but are nontheless VERY good, with the tremendous advantage of being able to be moulded for mass production.

Both Multiplex and Robbe appear to be switching all their offerings to these new materials. I feel that in order to continue to compete in World markets companies like RIPMAX, GWS and others will have to follow suit.

I have a feeling that these developements will herald the death of Styrofoam as a model building material.

Cheers. Patrick. [8D];):D

RE: ELAPOR Foam
 

I don't think Elapor has any polystyrene in it. The Microjet is quite popular around these parts, and I've seen people CyA the foam back together.

Weirdest darned thing I ever saw was someone's Foamy Factory 3DCap lookalike which used a sheet EPP fuselage with an embedded carbon rod. He'd put the thing into a roll and the tail feathers would lag about 45 degrees behind the wing. Did the most axial rolling circles I've EVER seen.

RE: ELAPOR Foam
 

I recently bought and built the Magister from Multiplex and it is a great trainer and flyer. So far no bad crashes but it is solidly built and the foan contruction is tough. Also after construction I am sure if it does suffer crash damage at some point down the line it will be easy to repair and get back in the air. The plane it's self has more than enough power and good control responses. It is my 4th plane and so far is making me look very good at the field. A very dependable flyer, easy to learn to fly with this model. Did experience some binding of control rods but it was easy to solve. Everylthing is up front and easy to understand. In short The Magister is well designed and engineered.

RE: ELAPOR Foam
 

I just got a Multiplex Easy Flyer Electric glider kit. According to the directions, regular CA only should be used on ELAPOR foam, not odorless/foam-safe, epoxy, or white glue. The directions refer to ELAPOR primer for painting the foam. Any ideas what that is and where to get it?

RE: ELAPOR Foam
 

I just found this thread while searching for Elapor Foam.

I have a new Multiplex plane, the Twister EDF Jet and it is well done in Elapor Foam.

It is almost indestructable as I found out on my solo flight after she was maidened by some of my flying friends.

Maiden flight was done at almost dusk but the pilot on the sticks thought she was fun and did several rolls and a loop then landed since he was having trouble with orientationl

I soloed the next day and my 72 yr old hands had trouble keeping up with "riding a tiger's back" but finallly got her under control. The Twister got behind me a little bit and when I brought her back in front I had accidently gone inverted.

The Twister likes to fly inverted almost as good as upright and I thought the nose was comeing down, so I gave a little up.

Yup! Inverted up is down! The Twister hit the ground at 45* and 45-50 MPH. Squashed the nose back, down and right. Popped the front seams, cracked the sides and bent the rudder.

You put Elapor Foam togther with regulsr CA glue so I just fixed all the cracks and broken parts with that.

Boiling water makes the Elapor Foam beads swell up and after dipping the nose in the hot water and using my hands to help remold, the cells got back their "memory" and with the back of a spoon to smooth out the surface cells again and a touch up of paint, the Twister looks almost as good as new.

Had a friend remaiden the Twister and he soon got comfortable enough to do 12 - 18" passes down the runway, several "Twisting" rolls and loops, and a great landing on her belly.

I am using a 4s1p A123 2300 mAh cube battery and the extra power (14.4 V fully charged) gives the Twister a little more screeeeem than a 2200 mAh LiPoly battery. Have had four 5-7 min flights on this battry pack.

I think all foam planes should be made of Elapor Foam even if that makes them a little more expensive. They would be tougher and easier to build and repair with regular CA glue. I definatly will not consider any other foam planes the way I "fly":D

Bill

RE: ELAPOR Foam
 

Whizzard - I have used the same technich to bring an EasyGlider back to life after a hard nose dive. Boil, pull, tug, twist, glue. Repeat until straight and then smooth out with a spoon. Pretty darn amazing material.

bevo2 - The primer is very hard to come by in the states. Clean the mold release off first. I just used soap and water, but I have heard that you can use Acetone (I would certainly test this out on a very small part like under a hatch or something before I did it I my own plane). Then spray it with Krylon Fusion. It dries to the touch very quickly, but is kind of soft for a few days so it is best to let it sit if you don't want it to get skinned up. I went for the utilitarian Port and Starboard theme. I like to fly high and usually in the evening so orientation can be a challenge at times. The paint scheme isn’t exactly striking but it sure is functional.

RE: ELAPOR Foam
 

Have just brought home a kit off the Twister, and tested the Material it seems to be able to be put togehter with Hot Stuff. Also the Kit carry a sheet off all replacement parts and how to order them.

Hans

RE: ELAPOR Foam
 

i have the gemmini biplane by multiplex whent in on a death spiral and broke apart wow my cousin hot glued it toghter wow it flies better than new buy the plane its great