Tim, back in 1998 I was co-project manager of a round-the-world balloon flight attempt (The J. Renee Balloon Project). I had prior experience building an airplane from fiberglass, and wanted to try carbon fiber. Our capsule was built by a company out west from foam and fiberglass, but the interior was basically an empty shell. I built a carbon fiber control panel, about 30 inches square, from a single sheet of 12-lb density Clark foam 1" thick, rounded at the edges to form a giant D-spar, and covered with two layers of carbon fiber on each face. I used West Systems Epoxy with slow hardener since they were a sponsor.
The resulting panel was pretty, black, high-tech-looking... and when it had cured I bonded it to an aluminum piano hinge on one side and mounted it that way, with an aluminum 1" angle, 1/8" thick, running down the center for me to strap Teflon avionics wiring to. I cut holes in it for about twenty pounds of radios and gauges. When it was all finished, it still felt really stiff--and the panel itself weighed less than two pounds prior to the radios and aluminum angle. It got the ultimate test during our first-year flight: the gas envelope split during climbout, at about 22,000 feet, and Kevin Uliassi, our pilot, flew it like a plain old hot air balloon to a very windy landing in the middle of the night on a field in Indiana, where he dragged along the ground until he ran into an irrigation system and stopped dead, slamming him into the panel at about 25-30 mph. Kevin is 6'4" and weighed about 240 at the time. No damage to the panel.... And the next year he flew the same capsule without any repairs being needed. So carbon is beaucoups strong... My suggestion would be to go ahead and use it--you're using so little anyway that the fabric wouldn't been a lot of money--and then leave it black for the sheer intimidation factor; just fair it with clear epoxy and some talc thickener, and then use some clear urethane with UV protection over the top. That advice assumes you're not going to have it sitting on a trailer exposed to sunlight for long periods of time--the heat would be bad for the keel if it weren't painted a light color, or covered with a protective sunbrella (hey, pretend you're from down under and cover your keel...). If you're still hesitant, I'd offer to make your keel for you alongside one of my other glass projects this spring. Good luck and good building, regardless! Dave Shaddock -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of tim ford Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 2:49 PM To: [email protected] Subject: catalina27-talk: Re: catalina27-OT- sportboat build I changed the topic to OFF TOPIC I thought about carbo and it's ok in the OD rules to use it. But I've never used it before and am slightly intimidated by the prospect...I would be concerned with not seeing air pockets and sanding through it...it does fray easily from what I've been told. so for now my intention is to use fiberglass to enclose the foil, s-glass if I can afford it. any advice is certainly welcome...I stake not even the slightest claim that I know what I'm doing. heh heh tf
