Tony Bennett Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Vickers Viscount mkII I have this idea lurking in my fetid brain for a large viscount. 120" wingspan. Full scale model. It's not going to happen till after Garry's lancaster is finished, so i have time to plan it out. I will be asking for advice and answers to some questions so i can formulate the basic plan and construction ideas. number 1 in my mind at the moment is mixing depron and balsa/liteply in the construction of the wings and fuselage. feel free to shoot me down now, but...... if i build a frame for the fuselage using ply formers and longitudinal stringers, would covering the outside of the fuselage with 3mm depron be strong enough. the inside of the fuselage would have an internal skin of balsa so i can have a fully fitted out passenger cabin. the same with the wings, ply and balsa frame skinned with depron. just ideas at the moment as i am playing with things in my mind before i commit to the build in jan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouncebounce crunch Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 G'day Tony I have never used depron but am interested in alternative building methods and relative costs. so this will be of great interest as the old foam and brown paper method has been popular in the past i have used it a couple of times and I will be watching for this build on such a large scale. good luck if you go ahead and please let us know what cost savigs you made doing it your way compared to all balsa and her mates. bbc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Bennett Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 i am thinking more for weight saving, as the lighter the construction, the more detail can be included without ending up with a brick. also a sheet of depron curved round will be smoother than planking with balsa and less filler would be needed, again saving weight. But as i said this is a mind exercise at the moment as i have builds coming out of my ears i need to finish first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouncebounce crunch Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 At least you having a go, and getting others thinking and that to me is what the hobby is about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Tony Depron is a wonderful material but its main advantage is its very light weight however achieving a good smooth finish usually requires some sort of surface coating beyond paint which rather defeats it main advantage. I would have thought it was better to work the other way round. Balsa exterior skin to carry the loads (and finished in the conventional way) and Depron for the interior work. As it is so light, easy to cut and glue you could add as much detail as you want with little weight penalty. It might take a bit of ingenuity in the build sequence to get it all in though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Bennett Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. i was thinking of covering the depron with tissue and poly c to get a smoother finish. also planking is a big job and can be very heavy. but i will bow to your experiance and have a think about doing it the other way round. i have how to sort the interior worked out in my head anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Tony Tissue and poly C on Depron can give a good finish, indeed I use it my self but mainly as a 'bandage' to provide local joint strengthening. On such a big and heavy plane Depron would require either a significant structral skin adding (glass cloth?) or have its internal support structure designed to take the majority of the loads. I seem to remember a pretty big C130 fuselage cut from solid foam and covered in layers of brown paper stuck on with poly c. Not much interior detail though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Bennett Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 well i had thought of ply formers with stringers to take the bulk of the load, then the depron as a final skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Tony I am sure a former/stinger structure would work provided the stringers were of sufficient size. The Depron would have to be considered as the equivalent of a film covering adding some stiffness but little impact resistance. From my own experience planking in Depron is not much different from using balsa in that two dimensional curves require 'shaped' planks but of course it is much easier to cut and sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concorde Speedbird Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Just quickly nip out of sleep to have a say. Do it, it'll be a great build. I would go 100% wooden structure, maybe with Depron for inner details like the cockpit and cabin, just what I'd do (I like balsa) CS (Back to sleep) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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