Balsa wood for motor mounts

CrashRecovery

I'm a care bear...Really?
Mentor
I'm in the process of building a blue foam/dtfb A-10. I need to find the type or close to the balsa wood the flight test guys use. Should I use the "plywood" stuff they use or should I look/use a thicker balsa wood for my motor mount design?
 

eagle4

Member
plywood has the advantages of the grain going in multiple directions gives it much greater strength, and as lonewolf said, balsa wood is just too soft, and your motor mount will be having a bunch of forces acting upon it, so you want the best strength you can get
 

CrashRecovery

I'm a care bear...Really?
Mentor
Should I be able to find what I'm looking for at a hobby shop or should I look at lowes or Home Depot ?
 

jetpackninja

More combat please...
Mentor
Your local hobby shop will have what you need.
My foamboard and corplast planes are sporting paint sticks from home depot. Free is good.
img-20131113-213637-670.jpg
 

skeplin

Senior Member
I use coroplast for my firewalls. You can buy sheets of it from your local hardware store. Works great, super strong, and holds screws perfectly.

coro_sheet.jpg

There is an episode of Flitetest where Chad flies a plane made of coroplast:

 

DDSFlyer

Senior Member
I found my plywood at Michaels...I think it is definitely a little thick for the control horns but really nice for the firewalls. I think the thickness is 3/32" maybe 1/8"