A Cardboard RC plane.

[Graham Stanley 3]

Hi Dave

You are correct, Solarfilm ceased trading a few months ago. However there are other model coverings that can be considered direct replacements, such as Oracover and Oratex.

The covering serves two main functions..... To make the cardboard water and fuel proof, and make the model a colour that is pleasant to look at and easy to see in the air.

Coverings that use separate adhesive or dope are not suitable, as they add too much weight or alter the characteristics of the cardboard. The cardboard we used was chosen as the best combination of bounce-ability and lowest weight.

For best appearance the covering is only stuck on the edges / corners of our models, and shrunk tight with an iron or hot air gun without pressure on the flat portions of the cardboard. Trying to make it stick to all of the flat panels spoils the appearance and reduces the strength of the cardboard , as it doesn't stay flat when exposed to too much heat.

Extra heat on the cardboard can be used to change the shape to good effect, i.e. make trailing edges more streamlined can be done with a hot iron and perhaps a little PVA. To get the same profile with wood it would have to be sanded, and a thin balsa trailing edge is not as robust as an ironed card one (when using our corrugated card). The card we specified was craft paper both sides, "B" flute normal corrugated between.