Veneered foam wings?

[Doc J]

Hi Chaps,
does anybody make sheeted or vac-bagged foam wings (semi) commercially in the US of A? I'd prefer to find an expert.

I'm looking to source some simple veneered (hardwood, balsa - glass vac bagged etc) wing blanks - 60" to 72“ for PSS.

Only small production runs of maybe 10 pairs.

Any info or leads gratefully recieved.

Cheers,

Doc.

 

[rcsoar4fun]

I don't know if anyone currently.

A guy "Anker" on RCG was bagging glass wings for a while, IIRC you can still find his website out there. Phil Barnes was the granddaddy of that market for many years. He made veneer wings for Airtronics, Whyte Wings and NSP IIRC. Then he bagged composite wings for a number of manufacturers.

The cores are the easy part these days. Glass is probably a lot easier to source and make consistent than balsa. Obechee is pretty impossible to find in decent quantities outside of my shop.

 

[Doc J]

I don't know if anyone currently.

A guy "Anker" on RCG was bagging glass wings for a while, IIRC you can still find his website out there. Phil Barnes was the granddaddy of that market for many years. He made veneer wings for Airtronics, Whyte Wings and NSP IIRC. Then he bagged composite wings for a number of manufacturers.

The cores are the easy part these days. Glass is probably a lot easier to source and make consistent than balsa. Obechee is pretty impossible to find in decent quantities outside of my shop.

Thanks RC,
you dont by any chance have contact details for Phil do you?

Cheers,

Doc.

 

[rcsoar4fun]

Thanks RC,
you dont by any chance have contact details for Phil do you?

Cheers,

Doc.

Pretty sure he has wisely disappeared from sight, lol.

Phil Barnes's blog - RC Groups

RC Groups - the most active Radio Control model community: electric and fuel rc airplanes,rc helis,rc boats and rc cars. Features discussion forums, blogs, videos and classifieds.

www.rcgroups.com

He was recently active.

 

[Doc J]

Pretty sure he has wisely disappeared from sight, lol.

Phil Barnes's blog - RC Groups

RC Groups - the most active Radio Control model community: electric and fuel rc airplanes,rc helis,rc boats and rc cars. Features discussion forums, blogs, videos and classifieds.

www.rcgroups.com

He was recently active.

Thanks a lot, RC!

Doc.

 

[Wayne]

We will be doing some tests here shortly, our new vacuum rig is built and ready for testing. We can source balsa and hardwood veneers as well as 1/64" plywood. I think the best bang for the buck might be basswood. It is rather similar to Obechee, but not as brittle. A good thing IMHO.

 

[Doc J]

We will be doing some tests here shortly, our new vacuum rig is built and ready for testing. We can source balsa and hardwood veneers as well as 1/64" plywood. I think the best bang for the buck might be basswood. It is rather similar to Obechee, but not as brittle. A good thing IMHO.

Hi Wayne - now thats some good news. I think we need to talk about that a bit further.

I like Maple, or poplar woods - much better than Obeche or ply.

Cheers,

Doc.

 

[Wayne]

I will admit I like the thin plywoods, but that does date back to my formative PSS days.

 

[Mucksmear]

Any thoughts on sheeting with Cedar? I’ve been using flat cut Poplar, for which I have now realized I probably should have gone with quarter sawn for a more even grain pattern. Most of the veneers I’ve come across seem to be around 1/40” thick. For the next batch I’m considering 1/16” quarter sawn cedar unless I hear something to dissuade me.

 

[Doc J]

Any thoughts on sheeting with Cedar? I’ve been using flat cut Poplar, for which I have now realized I probably should have gone with quarter sawn for a more even grain pattern. Most of the veneers I’ve come across seem to be around 1/40” thick. For the next batch I’m considering 1/16” quarter sawn cedar unless I hear something to dissuade me.

Smells great.

I suppose it really depends on whether you like a wood finish - which I do.

Doc.

 

[Wayne]

Someone had posted this link:

Wood Menu: POPLAR, Flat cut

certainlywood.com

They seem to have a pretty wide selection of woods. I'd be interested in placing an order with you to check out a few different options. I can also check with our current wood supplier to see what they may be able to offer.

 

[rcsoar4fun]

Poplar and obeche are very close in weight and IIRC poplar is a good bit stronger.

I think I still have about 20 sheets of obeche, but it has definitely gotten a bit more brittle over time.

 

[Doc J]

Someone had posted this link:

Wood Menu: POPLAR, Flat cut

certainlywood.com

They seem to have a pretty wide selection of woods. I'd be interested in placing an order with you to check out a few different options. I can also check with our current wood supplier to see what they may be able to offer.

Wunderbar(K) - thanks Wayne!

We'll (Jure and I) will keep rolling on this.

To explain - this is a partnership with Jure Z, who is making great steps (while OJT himself) to do the model CAD, in order to then do the 3-D printing of the male moulds. IN this case its still very much "cottage Industry" in the best tradition of US enterprise. Apart from the modelling activities Jure is a really ingenious and talented engineer.

Per aspera ad astra!

Doc.

 

[Hill Hobbit]

Blejzyk wings are skinned using poplar, as are other soarers in Aloft’s lineup. Way better than obeche!

 

[Doc J]

Blejzyk wings are skinned using poplar, as are other soarers in Aloft’s lineup. Way better than obeche!

Agreed, Jonty - actually it seems to be quite similar to the Basswood or Maple that is available in the USA.

Love the stuff.

Doc.

 

[Mucksmear]

Someone had posted this link:

Wood Menu: POPLAR, Flat cut

certainlywood.com

They seem to have a pretty wide selection of woods. I'd be interested in placing an order with you to check out a few different options. I can also check with our current wood supplier to see what they may be able to offer.

I may have given Nate that link. That is the the Poplar veneer I’ve been using. Didn’t know what cut to order so I just ordered Flat cut out of ignorance because we all want our veneer to lay flat right? The grain is uneven with the flat cut so you get wide contiguous areas of uneven density. I’m thinking quarter sawn may be more appropriate with a more even, consistent grain density, grain thickness, and grain spacing. My next order from them will be quarter sawn. Certainlywoods is one of the very few places I found online that offered a wide variety of raw veneer (unbacked) in suitably long pieces.