Titanium jetpipe??
 

Hi Guys, tried the search option on this but got very mixed and old reviews so let's try again....

Just for the sake of searching every gram to save weight on a next model I'm considering to make my next jetpipe out of titanium, never have used the stuff before.
Does anybode have some detailed experience on using this material, actual thickness to use and if it can be spotwelded easy? I read some scary stories about pipes burning when having a hotstart....

Now I use stainles steel 0.15mm thickness for all my pipes, would the same thicknes suit titanium?

Many thanks!

Best regards,
Gerald

RE: Titanium jetpipe??
 

Gerald,
If you decide against making your own, we can supply a laser welded stainless steel pipe with an aluminium outer - lightest weight possible.

marcs

RE: Titanium jetpipe??
 

our light weight raqcecar headers are made from inconel. They are aboiut 1/2 the weight of stainless and 10 times the cost.only used at daytona and talledaga by us as they are too expensive to hurt.

RE: Titanium jetpipe??
 

FYI, Titanium burns in air when heated to 1,200 °C (2,190 °F) and in pure oxygen when heated to 610 °C (1,130 °F) or higher, forming titanium dioxide.

RE: Titanium jetpipe??
 

do or don,t

Titanium gets bross when heated to fast or at one spot.
it will crystalize , and behaves like glass.
you will suffer from small cracks , eventually leading to pipe implosions.(seen it and heard it happen)
leading to a crash.
i have seen 2 identical models , both of them suffered from a failed pipe at almost the same number of flights.
one could land , with just minor damage to his rudder servo (cable fried due to the heat comming out of the crack)
other model was a total loss.
however we fly 2 C-arf flash with both titanium pipes , for over 140 flights in less then 6 months.
still no problem , only difference i see is the length of the pipe that could be a problem.
maybe to much vibrations.
lots of people use them , but i would not sell them anymore just there are to many variables then can lead to early distruction (hot starts , wrong allignments etc)

the weight difference was almost 300 grams..[:-]

RE: Titanium jetpipe??
 

Since there are know issues with titanium pipes, you might want to consider a hybrid, stainless inner and titanium outter pipe. Gary at Jet Tech made me one and it was several ounces lighter than an all stainless pipe.