Building materials, covering

[Greg Doe]

mg
Boron is some nasty stuff. I won't go into detail, but trust me you don't need it for a Wright Stuff airplane. It requires some special handling, and won't make you any more competitive since the airplanes have to weigh 7 grams. If you were trying to build a 2 gram airplane to to the Science Olympiad rules, you might consider Boron filiment. It is going to be interesting to see if anyone comes up with a use for Carbon that actually makes a airplane more competitive. Conventional materials of wood (balsa, spruce, and bass) mylar, tissue, and grocery produce bags are going to be hard to beat. If and when you have mastered conventional materials, and can break two minutes in a standard gym (approximately 30 foot ceiling) you will know if Carbon will give you an advantage.
Good Luck
Greg Doe
Smyrna,TN

[smartkid222]

. Generally you want to use a small bead or piece of teflon to separate the prop from the thrust bearing.

What the technical term for that? i keep forgeting.

[jander14indoor]

. Generally you want to use a small bead or piece of teflon to separate the prop from the thrust bearing.

What the technical term for that? i keep forgeting.

Well, technically that teflon piece or bead is a thrust bearing and only a thrust bearing. Its only job is to reduce the friction from thrust forces.

The thing commonly called a pigtail thrust bearing has bearings in it, but would more accurately be called a prop hanger as it does some much more than reduce friction. The front face is a thrust bearing. The holes are axial bearings. The thing as a whole is a prop hanger.

Pictures:
Thrust bearing: https://www.a2zcorp.us/store/images/pro ... ashers.jpg or in brass: https://www.a2zcorp.us/store/images/pro ... ashers.jpg
Prop Hanger: http://www.indoorspecialties.com/index1.html

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[kjhsscioly]

mg
can break two minutes in a standard gym (approximately 30 foot ceiling) you will know if Carbon will give you an advantage.
Good Luck
Greg Doe
Smyrna,TN

I broke two minutes, but still have no idea what metal fiber has to do with this event

[Greg Doe]

kjhsscioly,
Exactly. You made my point in one sentence. The only use that I have heard of for Boron filament
is for wing tip bows on ultra light indoor models, and reinforcement of weak areas. Unfortunately
Boron requires special handling to prevent puncture wounds to the model builder. Carbon on the other hand is much more user friendly. The question is "will someone find a use for carbon on a WS
airplane that will give them a competitive edge?"
Greg Doe
Smyrna,TN

[carneyf1d]

Didn't Bill Gowen's record setting F1M have a Leading Edge composed soley of a carbon strip?

[carneyf1d]

and by the way, boron will do no good in Scioly competitions unless they move weight down to under 2 grams. plus the stuff is a pain to cut and work with. Carbon plates are an interesting touch to this years rules, however i dont think its at all necessary to use if you want to win. With ultralight planes, carbon is super beneficial in order to strengthen the supports of a plane. However with 7 grams to work with, you can find some sturdy balsa instead. It'll save you a lot of time and money.

[blue cobra]

How's Tru-Lite Poly Micro 2 covering? My WS mentor said, "you could get some of that if you want." So how much better is it than produce bags?

https://www.a2zcorp.us/store/ProductDet ... uctID=1548

[jander14indoor]

Depends on how light a bag you find. They give the area weight on that web page for poly-micro.

From bags I've weighed, you'd save around .35 gm over the lighter bags.

If you use that .35 gm wisely for heavier structure your poly-micro plane will be slightly more durable and hold trim settings slightly better.

But that's a pretty small difference so if the two planes both weigh 7.0 gms at the end (and they SHOULD!), the winner will depend far more on you the flyer than on the covering.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[planemaker]

I have Mylar that came with the Freedom Flight Model kit is it a good covering