ideas from RC plane nut

[Dudley]

Just came across this forum on foamies, I have been building foamies for years now but they fly! The RC plane guys have been working with foam as core material for wings for 30 years now and recently the use of foam for entire planes has exploded as well as the covering and painting of it.

We are a cheap bunch so have developed some ideas for covering and adding strength to the foam. Maybe some of our ideas may transfer over to building these foamies and some of your ideas may work on ours.

Some of the stuff we use is the same , TBII , lightweight spackle , epoxy glues and resins. We also face the same problems of stuff eating our foam!

One of the things we use that I didn't see here was Water Based polyurathane(stuff for doing hardwood floors) . We have been using it like fiberglass resin and have had great results. It dries very hard and goes on very smooth . It has been used with various coverings ranging from very light fiberglass(1/2-2 oz fg cloth) , unused newsprint , craft paper, silkspan tissue. I know that you guys are probably laughing now about using stuff like paper and tissue on your creations but its amazing how much its adds to the foam. 2 layers of craft paper will make the stuff damn near bullet proof. It can then be painted with latex or other paints.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1552848

[Wobbly Wheels]

Welcome, Dudley !!
There's loads of great info here so kick your shoes off and jump right in. Unfortunately, a lot of that great info is in an unreasonably long thread that tends to veer 'a little' off track sometimes. Still, most questions people have had have been answered there, so it's probably a good start.
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=39373

There's a thread on hot wire cutting you'll probably like as well
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=39373

We have our own resident foamie R/C plane nut who should be along shortly...GPW's gonna be ALL OVER this one...

[Dudley]

I bow to the master
GPW is well known on RCgroups and I have built some of his designs over the years and have had some discussions with him on some of my stuff and mods to other designs. BTW my rcgroups name is Dudley as well.

[Dudley]

Not building a teardrop at this time but a friend might be. I have been redoing a 1976 Ventura fiberglass trailer so no time for another build . http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f56/new-look-for-and-old-ventura-46974.html

[atahoekid]

HMMMM, even more possibilities for an outside coat. water based poly over lightweight fiberglass. Time for a sample trial...Thanks and welcome to the group

[GPW]

Dudley , glad to see you here !!! We have better Smileys too !! You should have a distinct advantage having prior knowledge and experience with foam ...

[Dudley]

Sorry didn't recognize you without your cube These foam teardrops would make a great plane hauler, now if I just had the room. If i move the wifes car out of the garage again this year I will be dead!

[GPW]

D, I’m thinking Foamie plane hauler and place to stay at those Fly-In’s right on the front line , so you don’t miss any of the action .... saves Hotel expenses too ...

I actually built most of mine out in the backyard ... nothing to Rot really ...

[S. Heisley]

Dudley, I just quoted you over in our Brown Paper Floor topic, here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=49572&p=927553#p927553

Thanks for your input. Every bit of knowledge we gain is shared and put to good use!

[PcHistorian]

can you tell me about servos, and using them on a 12v system for opening louvers on vents for automatic cooling systems. (with a common thermostat, and 12v fan) can they open full end to end instead of part ways? what's their strength and cost?