HighGs

My Feedback: (1)

I've been doing some research on different airplanes for my next build. I was actually looking at something like a balsa kit (I'm sorta getting tired of continually repairing my foam A-10 after every fourth landing) Then I came across www.parkjets.com. Some very cool looking jets, but they're all foam. I was reading through some of the "building Techniques" and saw something about fiberglassing the foam. I've read other threads that said not to fiberglass over foam. Looking at some of the jets on the parkjets sight, all I could say is WOW! Some are very realistic looking (especially the Rafele!), while others look like they're made out of foam.

Does anyone know when and if it's ok to use fiberglass? I love my GWS warthog, it's very....relaxing. I think I understand why you wouldn't want to add weight to it.

I'd love to give some of these other foam jets a try, but am worried about durability. 99% of the repairs to my A-10 are from decent landings, not pilot error. Would it be the same with these other jets, or are they more durable due to the use of fiberglassing?

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Go with the F-18. Follow the motor, esc, battery recomendations to the letter. Download the free plans from your site or 3Dfoamy.com. No glass only fun. FFF from Lowe's or HD, Fly un painted or use Krylon H20 or Short Cuts if you need to. PM me if you need anything else

Mayday!Mayday!

HighG's, I have several birds that I have fiberglassed to make them a bit more "bullet proof".
A GWS Tiger Moth 400, a Parkzone F-27 Stryker, a Lanier U-2 so on and so on.
The reason I did so was they are so much more bang and dent proof, and the finish I have on them is a mirror like finish. You can not find the seams, overlaps, joints nada.
All are foam from epp, z-foam, even believe it or not, blue-core.
The way I did mine was sanded the body to a nice smooth 400 grit. Any dents, holes and such were filled with lightweight spackle, then sanded again.
I put on .75(3/4oz) fiber cloth with Minwax Polycrylic and smoothed it out. Let that dry a day and then sand it down to almost nothing.
Put on a second coat and sanded again. Then I used Krylon primer on it and airbrushed my paint and then one more final coat of the Polycrylic.
Of coarse my builds are a bit heavy compared to what most would do, but I took one of the F-27's straight in from about 75 feet up and the only damage was the nose wrinkled and I stripped the cloth off and re-did the nose. You wouldn't be able to tell now.
The one big bonus I did find out when glassing, aside from making it stronger, is the planes are a bit faster because of less drag, a slicker air surface.
The big draw back is very slow flight (coming in for landing) suffers and you have to come in a little faster. This is of coarse on small 15-30 oz planes, might be less noticable on larger models.
My point and opinion is, after I glassed my first one and seen the difference in wear and tear, all of mine will be glassed from now on.
Well worth the time to do it.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Whatever! At $8 a pop there are no losers.[>:]

whissel_blowa

I agree with Catfish, I have glassed a few GWS planes and the results are worth it 100%. My A10 came out at 22.5oz with over 26oz of thrust, the glass added around 60 grams or so (2oz or so) Never any damage on landings, it flies great, ROG's with no wheels, and looks cool in the air. We use Polyurethane down under, same basic stuff as minwax, it doesnt make for a super hard skin, but over a few weeks of curing it gives a very resilient finish that can be kept light. I didnt even fill any holes in the A10, just glassed over the wheel wells, battery slot, everything. It looks great from 6 feet away, what more do you want!

Vicman what sort of reply is that??

Larry Dudeck

My Feedback: (1)

I use .5 oz/sq.yd. FG with water based polyurethane. After a day of cure time, I add another coat of the WBPU. Most of the weight of the WBPU is water and disappears as it cures.

This leaves a nice smooth finish that doesn't require any sanding. Perhaps not as hard as a resin/FG finish but a lot more durable than bare foam.

HighGs

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for the help. I was thinking about building either the F-15 or F-18 as my first scratch foam jet build. (I really like your tiger paint scheme!)

I REALLY like the idea of a more robust airplane, even if it takes more time and effort during the build. I dig the scale look, which is why I got the GWS A-10. It looks great in the air, but I just last night had to repair the rear fin yet again. Maybe it wouldn't be a problem with an F-15 or F-18 seeing as how they don't have fins that act as arresting hooks every time they land![:@] At any rate, I'm not sure how much weight in epoxy I've added over the past year just repairing my Hog!

Am I correct in assuming that you used an upgraded motor/fan/battery on your A-10 in order to still be able to fly moccoaz? If so, what do you use???

Thanks again for the info!!!