bodgerep

Hello again Simon, I remember now, the dry powder filler I used to get many, many years ago. I didnt realise it was possible to still get that, will look more closely in future, as the pre mixed stuff tends to harden after a few months. Am thinking it may be possible to lighten in up with a bit of talcum powder or something if needed. Phil, you probably know but I will mention it anyway, styrene will defo melt foam, used to use it all the time when working on boats. Somewhere I still/used to have a container of styrene, used it to make resins more runny. Trouble is, once you open the container it seems to evaporate v quickly, even with the container top firmly screwed on. Never knew why, chemistry is/was not my subject 🙂 Once again, thanks to you both - John

Thanks very much for the replies. A question to Simon. I am not familiar with filler powder, is it basically glass or something else, will need to look at this stuff. Phil, I have a load of glass micro balloons, before getting into rc planes I did quite a bit of glass fibre work on boats, mostly polyester resins not so much epoxy, and I have some materials left over including the micro b. I have tried mixing the glass with epoxy, was a bit worried that glass is heavy and when I tried it, I found it difficult to sand. From what you say, am thinking perhaps I did not put enough glass into the mix, will give it another try although I like the no nails solution. This seems ideal, esp the wiping with a damp cloth. Does it sand or do you have to get it exact before it goes off? Best Wishes - John

Hi All Am wondering what filler you all use, ie to fill up dents, scratches and sometimes the cracks on joints ? In the past I have used various but mostly No nonsense lightweight filler. While its easy to sand it has little hardness and was wondering if I am missing some product that is a bit harder and better? Best Wishes

Hello James Thanks for sharing your build and the pics. It looks v impressive, am assuming you are copying some balsa plans using foam. Personally I have never made anything so intricate, all I have done is a number of Ugly sticks and a Wot4, they are fairly boxy :-) Like Martin I just use the edge of the table, never thought of heat for curves, will give heat a try. What glues are you using? Will follow your build with interest, will be esp interested in how it flys. Best Wishes - John

Hello Martin Have you managed a play 🙂 Any initial thoughts ? Would also be interested in your thoughts on any of the glues you are using. Over the last couple of years in which I have been using foam, I have tried a number of glues; and of the various depron and pseudo depron sheets I have used, I cannot say I have found a glue that I am 100% happy with. Thanks John

Hello Again I have never bought or used any of the Diall sheets, I only know about them from Graham. I am told they are not avail at Scuny, if you want them you have to go to Dony or Hull. If you are building just a one off could you just not get a few sheets from Amaz or FBay. Best Wishes - Jn

Hello Again EB The various A1 5mm sheets of foamboard were bought on ebay without much thought, about 3 years ago before the C. The best sheet was bought from www.papergourmet.co.uk Beware, am not sure you would get same quality now, I have not checked them out, also the paper is well glued to the foam, you cannot sensibly get it off, possibly that is why I thought it the best and strongest of the sheets I have bought. I have used it mainly for making fuselages. Someone who you might know called Graham D, swears by folded wings with packing tape, but uses 6mm depron bought from B&Q. I think its called Diall; for some reason its only available at big city stores. However Graham doesnt go in for gliders he mostly seems to build lightweight fast and aerobatic jobbies. I think your idea of foam ribs is a good idea, one thing I would do is add a bit of reinforcing plastic to some of the ribs where the wooden/carbon fibre spar goes thro them. I have found that over time, some 50 flights or so. the pressure on the foam tends to squash it a bit so the wings tend to "flap" a bit, to the merriment of the members of my flying club 🙂 Best Wishes - Jn

Hello EB I have found that different foamboards weight different amounts. One foamboard I bought weighed 275 gm per sheet, another 185. Thats quite a lot of diff. On top of that if you are using the packing tape covering, there are the weights of the packing tape, which again can vary with the supplier. The packing tape adds a lot of weight, leastways the ones I used did. My experience (for what its worth) is that if you want a lightweight foam wing you need to use diff materials and techniques. Exp Airline technique with foamboard is quick easy, fairly robust, but certainly is not light. Best wishes - Jn