Great video! I was searching for product ideas to skin a scratch built Predator drone I'm working on and your video convinced me that this is the product to run with. The ease of application and the end result sealed the deal! I'll definitely be using hinges on my control surfaces though as I heard these laminates may get brittle over the years but other then that the finish is incredible! I'm hot wire cutting my own wings and plan to retask some fiberglass arrow shafts I have laying around for my wing spars. 3 shafts in the central fixed wing section then dropping to 2 shafts (all 5 over lapping 3" at the union) where the removable wings join followed by 1 shaft centered out nearly to the wing tips. I was thinking about skinning it with carbon fiber but after seeing this I think I will save some money and go with this. I'm going big with an 8 foot wingspan for a nice stable camera platform for some serious FPV soaring fun. This will be my first plan with an Ardupilot system complete with GPS. The price for the electronics is amazing these days, the entire system with GPS, OSD, telemetry and power readings was only $79 bucks delivered! Back when I first started flying a cheesy 1 axis Gyro cost more then that! lol Thanks for the great information and video...
Cool thanks for doing this video I might try this on one of my projects, seen others use this covering you make it look easy to work with. Thanks for sharing
+Watt Waster Worked perfectly. Dicks video was the best tutorial for the process. The relief cuts are very effective when encountering curves and the foam is well protected and strengthened with the lamination.
Very helpful video. I can definitely see the benefits of laminating. Thanks for taking the time to share your technique. And I learned a new phrase, "relief cut".
...very good and i use the stuff on all my diy scratch-built epp stuff...add lot of strenght and resistance...for epp exactly 150˚ Celsius...thank you for the demonstration...
Great video Dick, I bought this from Aloft last week after watching your video and plan on laminating the wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizer on my Volantex Firstar 2000 mm FPV plane... Aloft should give you a discount for the business you have brought them through your videos... Thanks so much my friend..
+Solar Flarin Thank you soooo much for watching and if I can be of any other service just let me know. Experiment with the heat on that kind of foam first! Have fun
Great work Dick I have only just seen this video today! I fly the assassins from Crash Test Hobby - these are made similarly. Laminating film does a fantastic job in strengthening and making the foam more durable. Yes it take time but it is very rewarding .... I resurrected a HK Teksumo with this stuff!
It's book laminating film for school books. We used it for balsa sail planes back in the mid 90's. You could get a ton of it for cheap. You can also paint the inside "side" with a light coat of spray paint. Really lightened those old planes.
Just wanted to say thanks, looking at coating my foam and balsa planes. Not to worry about looks, as long as it is functional and helps with those unplanned landings😀 or pesky trees that come out of nowhere.
QUESTION: I'm just getting into RC aircraft, and I'm starting with a HK Bixler 2, and after I master that one, I plan to step up to a HK Phoenix 2000 and use it as an ALES [learning] platform. Would you recommend this thin film for their EPO wings, or should I use the next thicker sized film? Second, I've read that a lot of Bixler flyers put Scotch Extreme tape on the leading edges of the wings, and clear packing tape over much of the wing chord. Could this film be applied over over these type of tape to give the wing a more finished look? Thanks
Hello there! I've been using laminating film for quite some time now however the film de-laminates after some time. Do you have an idea how to better glue the film to the foam so that it stays there glued well? Thank you!
Hi, Mr. Dick. Great video! What do you think to use a 3 mil (75 micra) film to laminate a MTD, that is a "heavy" plane, but with much power too? Thanks. See you.
Luis I laminated my MTD completely with the 1.7 except for the bottom of the fuselage. On the bottom only for abrasion protection when landing. The 1,7 is plenty for the rest of the plane and yeilds a very smooth finish. You will love the MTD, it is one of my favs!! Thanks a bunch for watching.
The point of laminating is that it works similar to a bike helmet. The foam alone is fragile, as is the covering, but together they work quite well. I'd say in my experience that you gain 50% over the foams original strength
Was that you on that jet plane at the end? Very good tut. I always wanted to know this and now you showed me. Thanks! There is a big box under the xmas tree that could be a Twin*
No it is not necessary however for some planes that not have landing gear or may have re occurring damage it is very important. The weight is negligible and is spread over the entire plane. 1.3 mil thickness if very thin. It is a lot of fun to do and much easier to use than a monocote type covering. Thanks a big bunch for watching!!!
I want to build my P-40 Warhawk into just a model. I have laminating film but I was wondering, if I laminate the foam to give it more strength, can I prime over the film with plastic primer and then do my paint, then clear coat it, will this work or will the paint just chip off ?
Absolutely. If you want to paint before you laminate that is probably the best. However, if you paint after lamination then scuff with a very fine sand paper, scratch pad or steel wool, clean with alcohol then use a simple rattle can fast dry to paint.
Thanks Dick. I was also wondering if putting two layers of lamination would work, then the paint. I was wondering if it would stick to the previous layer and should I scuff up the first layer for better adhesion ? Thanks
Hi Dick,Great Video been looking at doing this Laminating for awhile now but haven't had the confidence too do it.You have made it a lot easier.Where about did you buy heat Iron from.Cheers from NZ
hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-covering-film-iron.html www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=COVR2550&P=FR&atrkid=V3ADW3A24148B_39159633250_pla-326341586606__201979541663_g_c_pla_with_promotion__1o1&gclid=CjwKCAjwoNrMBRB4EiwA_ODYvxbYATozP0oC5FFnHXN2GSKh0i4dOl8V_2VEE03-t8qSVTEPflW1uRoC0boQAvD_BwE Any iron like this will work. Thanks for watching and don't be afraid to try this it is great fun!!!
Nice job Dick. I'm sort of an old timer when it comes to RC craft. Built my first in the late 70's with the old monocote and had an iron just like yours.. I may still have the iron, not sure. Anyway, I'm looking to get back into fixed wing. Have my eyes on a foam Bixler. Do you think my heat gun would work? Granted, I cannot press the film like you are doing here plus you need to be careful with the heat gun. It will melt this Ethylene/PP foam if you get too close to it.
I'm looking at laminating, but unsure of how much laminate I need to purchase.. How much does it usually take? I know different sizes will require different amounts
Can i make one suggestion ... what ever covering you are applying be it tissue, silk, film etc always cover the bottom first then the top surface same with fuss bottom , sides , top.
Best if you paint the foam first. I use a rattle can paint and let it dry well. Then laminate, then you will have a strong and beautiful plane. This is a new Fun Cub that was painted and laminated: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gamYsq8mH5U.html
Not necessary to sand just make sure it is clean. Make sure you do the nose well. As a trainer plane the nose and motor are first to go. That is a great plane
make sure you follow the instruction for initializing the radio to the stabilizer and check that the controls are moving the right way when you move the plane .. This will assure many successful flights. @@Wings_of_foam
Hi Deek, Thanks for the tutorial it was very informative. Can you post a link where you are getting the laminating material? All the best and Happy flying!
Hi Dick, great video, your a real character. I have a question I hope you can help me with. I recently bought a Hobby King X8 Skywalker flying wing. It has about an 8 foot winspan and higher speed cause oscillations on the wings. This thing is foam and I was wondering which laminate choice and thickness you' would recommend. I look forward to hearing from ya. -Greg O
+Greg O Greg I would definitely recommend laminating the X8. I would use the 3mill or 5mill. There is such a large area to cover and the thicker film will add so much more strength to the plane. The x8 is not a high speed plane. It has been documented that the wings will fold during high speed maneuvers. The x8 is a slow stable camera platform and a hoot to fly. There is a lot that goes into setting up the x8. The CG must be spot on and there needs to be a little reflex in the elevons. What OSD/Control system are you using? Can you send me some pix of your build? A wing is sometimes hard to get set up. I will be more than happy to help you any way I can. Try to message me or use face book with my name.
Hi dick and thanks for offering your help, I really could use it. Currently I am sourcing parts and deciding what equipment I will use. I have not glued anything together yet as I want to make certain that access for wiring etc for future equipment is not impeded by putting everything together. I have ordered up the laminate, some fiberglass for the wing tips, servos, engine and props. I am eagerly awaiting their arrival. This plane is white foam. I would like to see it painted dark or light grey(my Navy experience/preference). Would you recommend painting it prior to laminate or post? What spray paint would you recommend?
+Greg O You may experiment with some aerosol spray paints. I would not recommend water based paint. Painting the foam with a very light coat and covering it with laminate is best. However, Krylon fast dry outdoor paint will stick to the laminate. I used that same paint on a foam plane and covered it and it looks great.
Some folks are worried that the foam bubbles are expanding, seems like you'd want more adhesion so the laminate doesn't come off--plus now you have a paintable surface.
Hey, I saw your link to aloft hobbies. I was thinking of getting the CP type film, but what mil should I get? I saw you got the 1.7 mil, which they say is for small planes. My Plane though is about 6 feet in wingspan and weighs as the most 8 pounds maybe. So I was thinking 5 mil would do the trick, but maybe 3 mil? I reckon 10 mil = about 250 microns = about .25 millimeters. So is mil the thickness of it? It seems like .25 millimeters is really thin.
+Sky Studio Great question: I like the 1.7 on the top and sides of the fuselage and top of wing and 4 or 5 on the bottom of the wing to give it a little strength and 4 or 5 on the bottom of the fuselage for abrasion protection. In fact two layers of 4/5 on the bottom. The 1.7 is easiest to fit around corners and tight places. My SkyWalker is laminated that way and it is perfect for me. Thanks for watching,
You say you put maybe two layers on the bottom of the wing? Wouldn't it be easier to simply buy 10 mil and just put one layer on the bottom? Thanks for the reply though. I will probably put 3 mil on top and possibly 5 or 10 mil on bottom of wing.
can this product be used on balsa wood planes instead of tissue , what's the weight per squre inch compared to tissue, can you give stats per size 1.7,3,5,10mil
***** No Problem i am new to making RC planes but have the basics down. it is just covering the wings that i needed. thanks for the great video keep it up!
f marz Absolutely plus makes the plane much stronger. Using less heat will produces fewer bumps. Different kinds of foam show fewer bumps. Paint before you laminate.
