Foam board...

[luke1350a]

Hey, so i'm new to the world of rc planes. I started with a mighty mini FT trainer but recently I crashed it quite bad. when i go onto the FT site they only sell foam board in min packs of 25, is there anywhere I can just get a few boards?

 

[Flying Monkey fab]

Sure, assuming you are in the USA it is everywhere you just have to notice. Most of it is white and not as waterproof as the brown but works great. I get most of mine from Walmart. $0.88 a sheet for Adams the same brand as the water-resistant stuff you got in your kit.

 

[luke1350a]

Sure, assuming you are in the USA it is everywhere you just have to notice. Most of it is white and not as waterproof as the brown but works great. I get most of mine from Walmart. $0.88 a sheet for Adams the same brand as the water-resistant stuff you got in your kit.

thanks

 

[luke1350a]

is elmers ok?

 

[Grifflyer]

is elmers ok?

Elmers sheets are almost twice as heavy as adams readi board found in dollar stores.

 

[Merv]

is there anywhere I can just get a few boards?

Walmart carries Ross brand foam board. Dollar Tree & Dollar General both carry Adams foam board. Both Adams & Ross work equally well for me. They are the only brands that I'm aware of that work. The others are too heavy.

 

[Flying Monkey fab]

is elmers ok?

Yeah, what @Grifflyer said , I’d use Elmers for a halfway material between Adams and plywood but not for large pieces.

 

[Old Bid]

Hey, I've been building FT planes for several years in the UK, but with a lower grade Foamboard (from Hobbycraft) that is 6mm and heavier, it also does not peel easily. Love the planes! Wanting to build larger models now...

Having just built an MPCNC foam cutter I've been trying to get some Adams readiboard (Waterproof/brown) in the UK.

I can't seem to find anyone that has any?

Even the FT store does not have any! - Does anyone have any suggestions of any European suppliers please?

 

[FDS]

Graupner is the EU distribution partner for FT board, Model Shop Leeds are good for FT stock, but the FT board is out of stock everywhere in the EU right now, possibly due to the new white version being produced. MSL told @CarolineTyler they had some on order.
The larger planes actually work better in heavy UK 5mm foam board, as air molecules don’t scale downward, just put a larger motor and prop on than the size listed in the plans, I keep the KV low on teh big stuff and run a 10x3.8 APC or slow fly type prop. Check motor thrust figures, UK builds are usually 40% heavier all up weight.
On short nose designs like the Scout or Speedster with big tails, add 50mm to the nose length in front of the wing when you cut the fuselage, this will give you more to play with on the CG.

 

[Hoomi]

I think it's the Ross brand from Walmart that I bought to make the replacement wings for Fawkes. Just out of curiosity this week, I cut two identical sized pieces of scrap, one from the Walmart foam board, and one from the Adams Ready Board selvage left from my Simple Scout SBK. The Walmart board weighs approximate 25% more than the Adams, at 1.0 gram for the Walmart, and 0.8 gram for the Adams. While not as significantly heavier as the Elmers board, I did notice the wings for Fawkes seemed heavier than I expected, and heavier than the wing for the Storch, which is comparable in size.

I need to go by one of the dollar stores and pick up some of the foamboard from there, and do a comparison of those.

 

[FDS]

All of ours in the UK comes from two manufacturers I think, all made the same, very little weight difference. Adams don’t trade outside the USA so you can’t even buy the foamboard direct from them, their minimum order is a TRUCK FULL, literally!
Only FT’s foam is the lighter stuff in the UK.
Another trick for EU makers is to use 3mm foamboard if you can get it, it’s similar in weight to the FT stuff.

 

[shadeyB]

as air molecules don’t scale downward, just put a larger motor and prop on than the size listed in the plans, I keep the KV low on teh big stuff and run a 10x3.8 APC or slow fly type prop. Check motor thrust figures, UK builds are usually 40% heavier all up weight.
.

Thanks I have wondered on a couple of builds, CG being out, doesn’t seem to huv the same thrust the guys do on the other side of the pond

Bigger props 😄🤪 just needed to hear that 😊

 

[FDS]

Bigger motors and bigger batteries also balance the CG nicely. Generally only works well with the larger designs. On the plus side many FT designs have plenty of headroom for more powerful power plants.
Going too big on props will kill smaller motors and ESC’s. Use thrust figures to see what works best for the all up weight you get.

 

[Old Bid]

Graupner is the EU distribution partner for FT board, Model Shop Leeds are good for FT stock, but the FT board is out of stock everywhere in the EU right now, possibly due to the new white version being produced. MSL told @CarolineTyler they had some on order.
The larger planes actually work better in heavy UK 5mm foam board, as air molecules don’t scale downward, just put a larger motor and prop on than the size listed in the plans, I keep the KV low on teh big stuff and run a 10x3.8 APC or slow fly type prop. Check motor thrust figures, UK builds are usually 40% heavier all up weight.
On short nose designs like the Scout or Speedster with big tails, add 50mm to the nose length in front of the wing when you cut the fuselage, this will give you more to play with on the CG.

Thanks for the advice, always appreciated.
I have been chasing Leeds Model Shop for ages, their stock has been ordered a fair while, but not arrived, and Graupner don't appear to hold any at all...
Was looking forward to some better quality materials, but guess this will not be forthcoming in the short term!

 

[Old Bid]

Thanks I have wondered on a couple of builds, CG being out, doesn’t seem to huv the same thrust the guys do on the other side of the pond

Bigger props 😄🤪 just needed to hear that 😊

I worked that out the hard way, some time back when building an FT 3D in the UK - Could not get it to balance at all, and it flew like a bag of spuds as a result - needed a longer body!

I also have needed to make allowances on some builds like the mini DR1, as the thickness of the European build boards makes the double folded stiffeners inside the nose cheeks that go either side of the power pod do not allow the pod to fit... (too small an aperture to fit the pod, so you have to adjust, etc. (gets a bit messy if you are not careful!).

Ended up using a high power 1806 with a 30A ESC on an FT mini P51 with 5x4.5x3 bladed prop (went like a rocket on 3S 800Mah, but drawing close to 30A on full power).

Other useful tricks learned;
1) cover the leading edge with 3M Blenderm tape, (before folding to prevent any paper tare) and
2) spray with cheap car aerosol paint to waterproof the outside (LIDL do a cheap variant that works well!)

 

[FDS]

I also think UK stockists are not going to rush to restock because the pound is so bad against the dollar right now.
Nobody has FT board that I have seen. Many of the really useful SBK’s are not available right now either.

 

[Old Bid]

Shame, but I think you are probably right....

Is the exchange rate differential going to get any better though!

I live in hope that some of the taxes we pay when cross boarder shopping with USA will improve... but who knows!

 

[FDS]

The biggest load of cock when buying from the USA is not the 10% import tax or the VAT, it’s the stupid “processing charge” levied by ParcelFarce to collect that tax. It’s £16, non negotiable and applied to anything with a total value of over £15 that isn’t a gift. Thus we get TAXED for PAYING OUR TAX. That really annoys me.

 

[Old Bid]

The “best” price I can find in UK is to buy 4x A1 Board’s (WestFoam 5mm) white foam board ... 4 for £10 in Hobbycraft.

It’s heavy, won’t peel easily (I use a little soapy water on a wet cloth to remove paper where necessary) but works well enough to build most things... Mini Arrow, mini P51D, mini Scout, Mini DR-1, etc. Have all flown, so weight can be overcome. Bigger flies better (except FT 3D, which just beat me, could not get it to fly...).
I also lightly spray finished models with car aerosol paint to waterproof, otherwise wings can start to sag with moisture being absorbed over time).

Someone somewhere is missing a commercial opportunity here in Europe, there are loads of people in UK and other Western countries that cannot buy decent foamboard, and have money ready to spend....

 

[FDS]

I talked to Adams. If you can buy a truck full and then arrange to pack, export it plus distribute it then I would buy some!
Yes you can fly stuff with our board, it’s just harder. I have had 10 A1 sheets for £22 off eBay. @CarolineTyler has a neat method for removing the paper.