COMPOSITEPRO

Hi Im looking to get back into building (age and time of life and finances is now right)

Have a history in building composites , one a vari eze one prototype europe and my day job which is composites on aircraft , so not new to that world

Have recently joined a few groups asking around for plans , mainly it seems the cozy IV is what people are buildijg but was wondering if Long Ez or Vari Ez plans can still be obtained

I also looked into a second choice option of building a Europa but its a s second option , id like to build a canard to be honest again.

Thanks

Mike

Mixture of materials (glass /carbon/kevlar) is possible and used many times, but it must be done with knowledge of the materials. The dragonfly spar uses carbon caps. HOWEVER, when mixing materials, the stronger (for want of a better word)material will bear most of the load until it snaps and then transfer the load in a rather abrupt manner to the other material possibly causing a failure mode less able to bear the stresses than either one of them separately. It is unwise to haphazzardly mix matials without the proper engeneering backround. Pure carbon can easily be used for cowlings, etc where it doesn't share load with other non-carbon structures, and a great weight saving can be realized (It even lightens your wallet at the same time)

 

Total carbon planes are somewhat common. The Lancair IV is all carbon as, I think was Spaceship I as well as the Starship.

 

Carbon is not a pantacia, however. Look in Spruce's catalog for a rating of the physical properties of the various materials readily available. (first page of Composite material section)

 

The best carbon is on a perfectly cooked steak

 

Rich

quite correct carbon unfortunately comes in different grades similar to e and s glass some of the carbon (pan fibres) have lower structural properties than glass this leads some to believe carbon is stronger than fibreglass

in many cases it doesnt quite ring true

higher strength fibres are also misunderstood despite having higher physical performance properties used alone they can still fail

layering or layup is what makes a composite part perform correctly or have its required properties making a component purely from a high grade fibre can be as detrimental

in simple terms carbon is great for stiffness ie highly loaded components which rely on strain to failure ie wing spars or components using these fibres in conjunction with others means that an optimized strength to weight can be acheived iusing combinations of materials to arrive at a desired result

i dont also believe that most builders have the equipment to process carbon the majority use wet layup which is fine however this yeilds the laminates which tend to be heavier and more void prone than other higher end processing methods im not expecting the pre preg and autoclave method to be high on most peoples skill list but believe me if its high performance carbon you wont see many reaching for the vacuum bagging film

composites are usually validated by their void content or most will use fibre to resin ratio if the part is resin rich it may be weak but if it is resin dry then it is far more dangerous carbon is harder to wet out than glass using wet layup methods

in terms of weight you will find that a badly processed carbon part can be heavier and weaker than an correctly processed glass component so if you did use a carbon cowling then it could still be heavier and more expensive than a glass version

Hi all i am interested in some pointers

I have been considering this for a long time the best part of my working career and have always messed around the idea of building full size instead of Radio control

im interested in building a plane kit or from plans though with my experience of composites im sure from plans would be a pretty easy option(plus more cost effective)

Up until last year i was hesitant about wether i wanted to fly down to money really its a big investment learning fly but now im in a financial position to do it and have realised literally anyone can learn to fly and you can build your own plane to do it in

my background is in structural f1 and aerospace (military)composites so no problems with my preffered method of construction

I worked at the europa aircraft factory from being 15 years where i did my work experience and kind of hung around till the factory moved to north yorkshire england

i learned basically everything i could from these guys and recently came to looking at what was possible

i like the Europa obviously a kind of affinity to it but think it could be quite an expensive route to go down

however i am struck by the cozy or EZ also i recall Ivan Shaw who started Europa had an EZ and that has always stuck with me it seems a simpler creation with much more radical looks and i think building from plans would suit my engineering creativity and enjoy the technical challenges far more

so whats my first step any guidance would be greatly appreciated

HELP anyone in the uk know of supplier for the glass resin etc can only imagine shipping costs from us.