Activity

I to would like to announce some things as well as make some suggestions for the Annual meeting.First I would like to announce that I would like to put my name in the running for the TRA Prefect position. Its…   Read more»

Thanks, guys! Doug both you and Chris LaPanze mentioned the right diamond cutting wheels for fiberglass. I finally went out today, in the snow, and bought the right ones. I used #409 before and while that one works, you’ll chew…   Read more»

Actually G10 comes in many forms be it Sheet/FW/CW products. G10 is a rating of the glass its strength and temperature abillities. So all the above can be G10 or other ratings dependant on the materials used. Normally G10 is…   Read more»

What makes a material G10, G11 or G12 or their corresponding fire ratings of FR4 FR5, etc. is the epoxy that forms the substrate and the way they are manufactured. It has to do with fire rating so the epoxy…   Read more»

I guess I can assume that both FW and C both are/ or can be G-10?I guess I have made that same assumption as well. I know it has fiberglass and epoxy and the best way I found to cut…   Read more»

But, Doug, filament wound isn’t G-10. I thought only convolute is G-10. Or did I just learn something new?G-10 and G-11 (Glass Cloth / Epoxy Resin)These glass-epoxy laminates are specified for their extremely high strength and high dimensional stability over…   Read more»

If you’ve worked with G10 you are probably already aware that toothed instruments such as saw blades, and drill bits, absorb almost all the heat generated since the G10 is such a great thermal insluator. So you burn up a…   Read more»

Well don’t keep us in suspense – What are the right tools for drilling clean holes in filament wound fiberglass?Warren

The drilling thing (on filament wound) is a mess. I have tried drilling at different speeds, types of bits, taping before drilling, etc. The danged delamination is a mess. I had to get the right tools but I don’t have…   Read more»

As far as Daves failure it was nothing more then a failure of the recovery harness that was past its due date and a booster section that came in from a pretty high altitude ballistic and was broken on impact….   Read more»

HM makes two grades of 98mm tubing. The thin wall stuff you have is generally assumed to be for motor mount tubes. There is a heavier wall product meant for high performance airframes.I’ve got a piece of 29mm HM FWFG…   Read more»

All good comments. They both make terrific products. I’ve used HM on several J570 minimum diameter boosts and never had a failure. This is a 25 oz rocket, minimum diameter, and a J570. LOTS of stress. SkyScraper was a lot…   Read more»

You know, Ed, the more I think about it, you may be right. Art’s finish was so slick it had to take a lot of rubbing to get it that way. Probably heated up the epoxy and caused it to…   Read more»

Hawk vs. PR… here is how I see it:–Advantage to Hawk on Customer service. You just never know with PR. While Curtiss is indeed getting better, it would be an understatement to say that he has a ways to go.–Advantage…   Read more»

Perhaps there is a unknown trait whereby excess amounts of polish and wax can degrade the structural integrity of the glass.Can’t be serious. NOTHING on the outside of the glass will degrade it–other than a hammer. Actually, I think the…   Read more»

Wait, wait…. It was one of Art’s rockets that failed….Perhaps there is a unknown trait whereby excess amounts of polish and wax can degrade the structural integrity of the glass.

From a purely structural engineering perspective, convolute wound tubing is considerably stronger than filament wound. The reason for this is that most of the load in convolute wound tubing is carried by the threads in the cloth. With Filament wound…   Read more»

I don’t think there is any “bashing” going on. Both PR and HM products are far better than the other options. Everything in this business will fail at some point.I have heard some swear by one product versus to other….   Read more»

I have built 2 hawk mountain airframed kits and the quality was exceptional. They are AMAZINGLY strong and everything fit beautifully. I have no experience with PR stuff.

Good point, Conway. Art, it is CLEAR your PR tubing had a flaw, and if PR stands behind their products, they will not only replace it but will want the sample of tubing that failed, so they can prevent that…   Read more»