Damage reduction for foamboard
- Thread starter Syro
- Start date
FDS
Elite member
Iron the open edges of the boards, use fibre reinforced tape on wing joints and waterproof the DTFB style stuff.
If you add too much extra weight you are missing the benefits of a light, cheap material.
All planes have a limited life, they can be reduced to scrap at any time, accepting crashes and dead planes is part of the learning in the hobby.
Some designs are tougher than others, plus if you write one off, you just make another!
If you add too much extra weight you are missing the benefits of a light, cheap material.
All planes have a limited life, they can be reduced to scrap at any time, accepting crashes and dead planes is part of the learning in the hobby.
Some designs are tougher than others, plus if you write one off, you just make another!
Hai-Lee
Old and Bold RC PILOT
Ironing doesn't work for every exposed FB edge! Whilst some swear by it, it isn't the answer for everyone!
My method is quite simple and that is to wipe glue into the exposed edge prior to sealing and painting. If I require special impact protection I may embed a Skewer or similar into the exposed edge.
Try to remember that you can easily cut out a damaged edge and graft a new piece in. If ironed the grafted piece will have a couple of weak points, (at each end of the grafted piece). Done properly with some toothpicks used across the graft edges the repair on a standard FB edge can be almost seamless and permanent.
Normally I get around 2+ years out of my builds before I get bored with them and pass them on to others. This equates to an average of just over 100 flights but the maximum has exceeded 1000 flights without repair! Built and finished properly the life of the plane is up to you and your flying skills!
Imagination and available materials are the only limits on what you can do to reinforce your build. So I recommend that you do your own experiments to see what works best for you. Just remember that if you are a newbie there is a rule that applies, "You will crash", so do not invest too much into reinforcing your planes and making them heavier because heavier means more damage! Learn to fix your plane and reinforce only as you need to! You will soon have your own working methodology!
Have fun!
There was a post a little while back about a guy using milk jug plastic on the bottom of his belly landers. Trim to size, scuff the plastic and glue into place.
It looked like a pretty killer mod to me if you tend to belly land in the infield by second base.
It looked like a pretty killer mod to me if you tend to belly land in the infield by second base.
FDS
Elite member
Yes, iron parallel to the edge, make a nice round edge with the foam melted a bit. Don’t use the best clothes iron, the paper leaves residue on it, buy a cheap one just for foam. I have found that to work very well on the FT foam, slightly less well on our heavy paper EU foam.
White glue worked for me too, I just liked the smooth finish from the iron, I did it before assembly once I had tried it out. Only do the exposed edges, not insides of fuselage etc.
You will also find you get quicker at building with practice, stuff like the Simple Scout, Mini Scout and Tiny Trainer are really simple builds that you can crank out in about 3 hrs. Also when it rains you build instead of fly.
White glue worked for me too, I just liked the smooth finish from the iron, I did it before assembly once I had tried it out. Only do the exposed edges, not insides of fuselage etc.
You will also find you get quicker at building with practice, stuff like the Simple Scout, Mini Scout and Tiny Trainer are really simple builds that you can crank out in about 3 hrs. Also when it rains you build instead of fly.
Flying Monkey fab
Elite member
All the above plus FT has a video of tips somewhere in their collection.
My limited experience is a little packing tape goes a long way for "hard landing" but nothing light enough is going to save you from a sure enough crash and burn.
My limited experience is a little packing tape goes a long way for "hard landing" but nothing light enough is going to save you from a sure enough crash and burn.
Bricks
Master member
The lighter you build the less crash damage to a point $ Tree foam board crushes very easily if you want a longer lasting crash type plane EPP is the way to go. I really like these EPP planes http://www.valuehobby.com/airplanes/epp-plane.html the G202 will fly in just about any wind, turn the throws down and you have a mild mannered plane that just about anyone can fly. Super crash resistant and very easy to fix, I have a couple that are more glue then EPP and still fly great.
I have had people that have never flown fly one of mine ( trying to get them hooked ) it seems to work. After I took my first one to the field I let everyone fly it now just about everyone in our club has at least one of the Value Hobby planes they are that much fun to fly.
I have had people that have never flown fly one of mine ( trying to get them hooked ) it seems to work. After I took my first one to the field I let everyone fly it now just about everyone in our club has at least one of the Value Hobby planes they are that much fun to fly.
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