Thanks for checking out the glassing video! Making great progress on this aircraft! If you have a moment check out the site! www.thelightersideofrc.com/
Doing my first scratch build after a 20+ year hiatus in the hobby. At the point of glassing the wing joint so, great refresher. Also just ordered my first 2.4 GHz radio system. Boy, has that technology come a long way in 20 years. Thanks Jonathan, excellent, informative videos.
Very Cool Frederick! Welcome back to the hobby! If your getting your first 2.4gz Radio it will be so much easier! so much less issues and thinking on the radio end! Thanks for watching!
I am planning to build my first fiber glass plane for last 2 years. I was collecting slowly all the items and I have all I need (including the idea :) - finally) , Thank you for your knowledge.
I built a 427 Cobra replica. I can attest to the development of an educated hand. I cannot tell you how many hours of filling, sanding and rubbing my hand over the surface, identifying low and high spots. Your hands are incredible detectors.
Beautiful Job Man!!!!! The flat spot issues you were having is more than likely from using CA glues on all your sheeting butt joints. You can sand all you want, and you will never get the sheeting joints perfect using CA glue. I always use a high quality wood glue, so when you're sanding your sheeted surface, the butt joints sand at the same rate as the surrounding balsa. Thanks for the awesome videos.
Gday Jon, Great vlog, picked up a lot of information and techniques, was easy to understand, I will be using your method on the Superyacht that I'm building at the moment, I have never fibreglassed ANY of my crafts before this will be the first !! I'm just glassing the Hull because its a larger area of 1.2 mtr in length...Cant wait to see your finishing off method ..Ty Paul
I love the Porter videos. Maybe we will see it fly one day. It inspired me to redesign my Porter plans and next winter I will make a new and more scale fuselage using the 2 x 1 meter wings I already have.
Awesome 😎 thanks. I think so! Owner will plug away at it and we will hopefully video the first flights! Awesome to hear your redesigning and working on it!
@@thelightersideofrc for someone who has primarily build foam planes a lot of flite test and wants to get into balsa scratch builds do you have any suggestions? Should I get a kit? Where should I look. I'm not quite good enough at cad yo design a plane yet I should build a couple first.
Lots of local hobby shops will have kits kicking around. You should also check your local guys, forums and Facebook market place/groups. Lots of those floating around
Best dam Glass vid ever seen everything covered (ha ha) really explained well. Gonna be in my arsenal from now on. Going on from me Aussie mate there during first Covid sign outside shop after opening up was 1 roll toilet paper $1800 nz Daimond Ring Free. Again great vid. Carry on.
Thanks Nick! Appreciate that! If I do another one I may try using the Waterbased Urethane method. I have had a completed piece shipped to me from a viewer that was done in this method and very impressive!
Interesting to see your way of glassing Jonathan. I did my first glassing two weeks ago and I used 12gm/m2 glass along with the brush and those foamy 3 inch paint rollers. I was really happy with the result. The rollers pushes the resing thru the fiber and leaves no extra remaining resin. Almost ready for primer and final paint.
I use the finish resin mainly pacer brand but the bob smith finish cure is thin enough and like you I use 3/4 oz glass and the 50 cent trash brushes from walmart you can also take a bondo knife and spread the access out and get an even finish but nice job
No problem. I’m building a 1/5 FokkeRc BF-109G and I’m rapidly getting to the glassing stage. I haven’t glassed myself, and your video matches exactly what my dad does/says, right down to the West Systems thinned with alcohol.
Jon, Thanks again for the great content!! Question - do you know the reason the owner chose the heavier cloth? Is there a specific advantage of using 1.25oz cloth compared to 0.75oz? Thank you!
Hello Tord. I think the general thought behind it all relates to perception of strength being added with the cloth. I would use .75 I could do the calculations and figure out wing area but maybe we could have got the total weight addition down to 550 or 500 grams. On a plane like this not a big deal but F3 or maybe a racer where grams count, important
As you said, nobody’s way is “the right way”. I laid the glass on my scratch built Aerostar staggering 30 degrees with each layer as that is how Rutan Composites used to do it. It honestly didn’t make a noticeable difference in strength and it took up a lot more cloth! I like the use of alcohol and especially the toilet paper! Can’t wait to see the next video! Thank you for sharing!
Rutan lays his glass that way for strength. On our models, the glass is only used for a paint base. There is absolutely no strength from the glass we use on our models, as it's only there for a paint surface.
I have always used 3/4 OZ cloth because you're not looking to add strength or weight. Also, I use a squeegee to help remove excess resin and spread the cloth tight and to the surface.
Hey Jon , Great Vid , as usual !! When you come to England , i'll show you round my Composites Business , and let you in on a few trade tips !! As you say , everybody is right , BUT , your Pilatus , looks the dog's dangly's !! Cheers phil
@@thelightersideofrc Another tip with West system stuff is to add a bit of cab-o-sil, (their stuff is called colloidal silica), to the resin mix to slow the flow. Keeps gravity from sagging the material on angled or vertical surfaces. Peace, love, and aloha y'all.
does this technique same some $ compare to balsa structured parts (wing - Stab - Rader) ? what is the major advantages of this technique compare to balsa? thanks for details
Hello Ali. Adding a skin of fiberglass and painting the aircraft generally makes it more durable to hanger rash and impacts. A balsa structure with covering is slightly lighter but suffers damage from any dings and knocks. Some will say that glassing it makes it stronger but I don't agree. The strength is in the structure.
Thanks very informative. Have you ever tried dressmskers shears. I am told it reduces loose fibres at the cut and helps bonding to the balsa and can assist around curves. Also you may never had it happen but what do you do if you have a small area where say you've missed an air pocket or an imperfection or contaminate on the balsa. Do you open it up and fill with resin or something else entirely. Cheers
Thanks Dave! I have not tried dressmaker shears but I will keep my eye out and pick up a pair if I find them! And hide them from my kids! Yea I have had pockets happen. Generally I will and them out and use filler over the hole. i've never had a big one. With the mindset that the glass is just giving a suitable finishing surface that would be no big deal to sand through the bubble. If one has the mentality that the glass is holding the plane together than they may have an issue with it. As I've mentioned, I'm the first mindset!
I hope you read it. Because I need your guidance. Look I'm trying to build a fixed wing UAV. It's a flying ring configuration, with the help of thermocol. I wanna know what can I use to reinforce it. Please help.
If in a case where filler is needed on the wings for low spots ,how much will it affect trim even if your aileron set up is spot on. Dont want to maiden a plane with one wing heavier than the other although one had more low spots to fill than the other. Thx
I think lateral weight within grams you would have a hard time seeing any effect on the plane. Some of my aircraft in the past I’ve had the fuel tanks plumbed in series with 1.5L tanks x 2. 1 empties first and the other is still full. The tanks are on the sides of the fuse and not noticeable. Of course the further out you get the worse it would be.
what is the lightest fiberglass cloth you can use to add a little strength to say like a wing, i want to add a little strength to the gull part of my coursair.
The structure really makes the strength. For contact and hangar rash it will make a difference. The heavier cloth you use the more fill coat you will need to do.
Thanks Jonathan for the Tips. Would you use Kevlar Fiber over Fiberglass? I found Kevlar at a Good Price also the weight is 1.7 oz per sq yard. I want to add to my Foam Glider. Would it be to heavy ? Also with Foam I want to use epoxy. Thanks for all your Videos. God Bless
Hey Greg. In this type of scenario with the PC-6, the wood structure is providing your strength for the aircraft. The Glassing is really to have a nice durable finish to paint too. It's important to keep it as light as possible. In a full composite layup you will find other composites used for additional strength. They generally come with a weight penalty. The problem with heavier carbon and kevlar is it won't bend as easy as 0.75 fiberglass.
I just found this video of yours; I'm happily impressed!! I do have a question for you about your epoxy/fibreglass application: How does it respond to being dried in a temperature/humidity controlled oven?🤔
I came across this video... that model is huge and it seems build very precisely. I hope I'll be able to do such a good job when I build my first big model. what's the wing span of that model?
I have a question about glassing wooden planes. I saw your video where you glass a fuselage and wings. What I can't find anywhere is how to properly apply a second layer. is that just applied and left, or peeled off as well? How does this work properly? Thank you so much for your help.
Hello Tobias. In a scenario like this, adding a second layer over wood construction isn't necessary. The fiberglass finish over wood is basically to provide a durable finish to accept paint. If you need to add a second layer to a specific area (like wing tips) than you just do it while your installing the first layer of glass. After this step you can either fill coat with epoxy (I don't like this option but many do it) or you can go to primer to fill the weave in the glass. Hopefully this helps you.
I should build a plane again, it has been a couple of years since my last build. Normaly I didnt go through the effort of using glass and went the Oracover route and only glassed structural parts.
@@thelightersideofrc already looking for a plan, got a load of balsa and ply just sitting and gathering dust. I mainly fly (semi) scale helicopters but I dont have any scale planes only fun fly stuff. Soo thanks to youtube suggestions and finding your channel I'm hyped again
It can be done very light but I think it's always going to be heavier than Film covering. Much more durable of course. But if you soak up the extra epoxy and stay light on the paint it won't add much.
I was interested in the relative numbers, so here they are: Elevator left: before 56g, after 72g -> 28% Elevator right: before 59g, after 28g -> 32% Flaps,... (average): before 100g, after 125,5g -> 25.5% Wing left: before 1100g, after 1221g -> 11% So large plain areas seem to gain less weight, small complex parts seem to gain more weight.
Hey Johnathan Just glassing the p-51 also yippee ? Have you seen the peel ply method of glassing ,looks interesting , seen it on rc scale builder Another great video Keith
Some alcohols, like isopropyl , cause a negative effect on the finishing resin, causing the premature breakdown of the epoxy. I've tried everything over the last 40 years of model building, and the best thinner, and only thinner I use is a solvent based thinner that will evaporate, and leave the epoxy mixture. Yes, If you're using alcohol to thin your resins, ALWAYS use denatured. This is just my opinion, and what I've learned over the last 40 plus years. Jon is perfectly fine using his own method, if he gets the results he's after. Build on guys!!!!!
HI Jonathan, can you confirm to me the process ? first : fiberglass, second : sand and third : paint ? difficult to see on the video if the surface is perfectly smooth. You use one month for 4 persons of toilet paper ! lol
Hello Philippe. 1. Sand and prep all surfaces. As smooth as possible! 2. Fibreglass. 3. Go over all surfaces to inspect and treat glass edges. As I found, additional prep was needed. 4. Prime. 5. Sand primer 6. Add some scale detail 7. Prime again. 8. Add scale surface detail 9. Paint.
Good morning Sar Sar main India se hun main first time RC plane banaa raha hun fiberglass chemicals kaun se website Amazon Se Mil jaenge Sar yah India mein nahin Milte please aap batayenge yah kahan se Milega Saman your help request
When I glass and remove the extra resin I use toilet paper but I leave it on the roll and roll over the area to remove the excess. Just be careful regarding the direction of the rolling so the paper does not come off the roll as you do this. The small amount of applied pressure on the roll also acts to push the f/g against the balsa. Finally, buy the real cheap stuff that has no design on the paper.
Nice video this last year here in Oz you wouldnt have done that with your toilet paper as it was worth its weight in gold due to shortage ( or due to stupid greedy people )
Why do you waste toilet paper and throw away epoxy? I have been doing this for a living for 35 years and never done it like that. If you use a bondo spreader to move the resin around then scrape it back into the bucket you waste hardly any not to mention saving antiskid for what it was made for.
Simple answer. The owner wants it glassed. More complex answer. Yes you could paint the wood but the balsa sheeting has zero resistance to dents and dings. In a short time the plane would look terrible.
@@thelightersideofrc 'in short a time...' ummm. i don't think so. you got some fallacious logic, there. wood could be PLYWOOD. wood could be covered with a 'dent resistant' finish, in order to compensate for the pilot being especially clumsy or flying into a swarm of starlings. cheers
Hi. In your video you mentioned you will be using a polyester filler. This filler is a no no on full sized aeroplanes. Too heavy. On full sized stuff we use a mixture of epoxy resin and microballoons. This is microscopic bubbles of glass. The microballoon is added to the epoxy until the mixture is about like peanut butter. This is then spread over the entire surface and allowed to cure. The surface is then sanded to a very smooth finish. The big thing with micro is that it sands easier than putty and it weighs nothing. Give it a shot and test it for yourself. I'm sure you will be most supprised. Microballoon is available from any aircraft supplier. Aircraft Spruce & Specialities spring to mind. Test it on a scrap piece first to satisfy yourself that it really works.
@@thelightersideofrc ... Ok I see but it would only be worth it on bigger planes and a lot of planes are not completely covered in balsa . I'd love to glass a plane but I only have a .60 size mustang as of now that has balsa wings. The most cool planes have disappeared and what is out there cost a ton of money. Keep up the great work.
Hey Jon , Great Vid , as usual !! When you come to England , i'll show you round my Composites Business , and let you in on a few trade tips !! As you say , everybody is right , BUT , your Pilatus , looks the dog's dangly's !! Cheers phil
Do you know what the strongest jet turbine to buy is because the strongest I could find put out 30kg of thrust and I’m wondering if any can go more. Btw amazing video I dropped a sub!
Their biggest is 300 and 400 series. I am now a dealer for Swiwin turbines and am switching all my aircraft over. They also make a 30kg and 40kg series. They will also be making larger bit as has been mentioned it’s typically for the UAV military market. Check out www.thelightersideofrc.com/turbines
