RunRyder - Lexan Fantastic

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Audacity Models Pantera 50 - Tiger 50 > Lexan Fantastic

hootowl
Elite Veteran
Location: Garnet Valley, Pa.

Flying in my backyard I forgot about the string I had up marking a pole garage I'm having built.

Anyway, heard a slap, hit the ground with a boom strike. Totally my fault.
Nothing serious, tail boom, minor main blade damage but the blades removed my horizontal fin and the hit broke the vertical fin in half.

Went to Home Depot and bought a square of Lexan plastic. $2.99

Wala...

It's about 1/2" longer below to help save the tail rotor plus Lexan bends but doesn't break... even with a hammer. It's also nice and light.

Member Bog Troll Club #1

11-22-2005 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

rob10000
Key Veteran
Location: Western Massachusettes

what are the wires for?

11-22-2005 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

hootowl
Elite Veteran
Location: Garnet Valley, Pa.

You guys got keen eyes.

I have an MPI stobe light setup. Two strobes, one up front and one in the back. They run off a dedicated battery so as to be isolated from the rest of the system. The extra battery weight up front takes care of the tail heavyness. MPI claims there will be no interference when set up this way. Darn things really flash bright.

Took a little Radio Shack slider switch, wired it, shrink wrapped it and foam taped it to the side of the unit.

Member Bog Troll Club #1

11-22-2005 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

rob10000
Key Veteran
Location: Western Massachusettes

Ahhh. I see.
I thought you were perhaps illuminating the lexan for better visibility for night flying. THAT would be a great mod for night flying, because it would light up the entire fin, and highlight the edges.

11-22-2005 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

hootowl
Elite Veteran
Location: Garnet Valley, Pa.

Yes but I would need a constant on light. A fellow at work said the exact same thing to me.

The camera flash here did the same..

Member Bog Troll Club #1

11-23-2005 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

darkfa8
Key Veteran
Location: Eatontown, NJ, USA

hey Mike,

if you were to bop the tail section into the ground does that Lexan stinger bend or allow the tail blades to potentially contact the ground?

my custom aluminum stinger cracked off a few weeks ago and I'm looking into aquiring some CF to replicate it out of, but in the mean time I'm leary of flying the heli with no vert fin. Home Depot is down the street, so depending on your response and what I find when I roll over there, maybe I'll make a Lexan copy of my stinger as a temp until I can make the CF version.

- Dan G. -

11-23-2005 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

hootowl
Elite Veteran
Location: Garnet Valley, Pa.

Dan it's thick enough to not be at all flimsy and certainly stiffer than the stock fin. Haven't flown the tail yet. Lexan is unbelievable material. When I worked at Lasko Metal back in the 80's we made fan blades out of the stuff. These were oscillating table fans specifically spec'd for Grainger to be sold as industrial fans. We took one of the blades and pounded the crap out of it with a hammer and it would not break. It's similar to nylon but stiffer.

You'll find the stuff, if the stores are similar, way back where the screen doors are. Took me a while to locate. I think I got one 10 or 12" square and it's .100" thk.

I'm surprised the aluminum cracked.

I used my hand held jig saw, clamped it upside down in a vise and used it as a portable table saw. Lexan cuts exceptionally clean with little binding or burring.

Then I did the same with my belt sander... clamped it in the vise.

Member Bog Troll Club #1

11-23-2005 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

darkfa8
Key Veteran
Location: Eatontown, NJ, USA

the aluminum was .090" and I don't know how it cracked, but it separated right where the piece that attaches to the boom meets the part that is milled out in the "stinger" portion

2mm thick is typical for CF fins, so at 2.54mm the lexan should work well. I just ordered a small sheet of 2mm CF for $14.50 shipped from the UK, so that'll be on the way also.

Thanks Mike!

- Dan G. -

11-23-2005 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

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Audacity Models Pantera 50 - Tiger 50 > Lexan Fantastic

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