BalsaUSA.com and balsa covering your plane

[planejane]

I'm just sharing a cool place I like- I bought balsa here and great price on CA glue and some R/C kits I'm considering in the future...
www.balsausa.com

Also- has anyone tried covering their model plane with 1/32" sheet balsa instead of tissue just to be different?
I think it would make it too heavy for a flier but you'd have an ultra smooth surface for decorating. Obviously parts of the plane could be difficult such as wing tips and compound curves. maybe soaking in water makes the balsa more flexible and one could use drywall compound for filling gaps.
Just in case you don't have enough to do already....LOL

[Greyhound]

I have heard of covering model airplanes with balsa instead of tissue.

Never done it. It looks pretty hard.

[SteveM]

People do it all the time for static display and RC.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=827861
http://www.virtualaerodrome.com/select. ... turer_id=7

[Mad Cap Romanian]

I added some old cigar box wood to one of my fliers once. It worked.

[Bob S]

I'm in the process of trying it for the first time. Just started so I don't know how it will turn out.

[planejane]

I covered the lower wing flaps on the Sopwith Camel I'm doing with 1/32 balsa sheet, they look real nice- It would take much longer and i think one would have to plan a bit in advance to do the whole thing---problem being wing edges- if you were to cut all the stringer tips down 1/32 during assembly so the sheet covering would be flush with wing front and rear edges. Its probably best to just cut tail fin and rear flaps out of sheet balsa- maybe 3/32.
I had to glue and pin the edges of the sheet on the wing flaps, let that dry, roll it with the curve, glue and repin, sand, etc- It takes longer!

[thymekiller]

Heres a scratch built unit that mostly sits on a shelf. The black parts of the fuse are 1/32 sheet. Used sandable primer in a spray can to smooth it out then flat back. So far it weighs 45 grams. Probly too heavy to fly very well.
The t-craft behind it has sheet on the top of the nose. It was applied in narrow strips, then sanded down. Light weight drywall spackel as a filler.
The nose of the black one was done in 3 large sections. Different than the blue one. Both noses curve in 2 different directions. If you hold the black one up to the light, you can still see the different sections because of the distance between the formers. Strips would have been better for getting a smooth flow in both directions. Also, you can use a thicker sheet and that gives you more room to sand in a compound curve. Hope this helps.


thymekiller

[thymekiller]

Yes..... it does take alot more time.!!

thymekiller

[Greyhound]

Nice planes!

[thymekiller]

Thanks. Theres a guillows on the list and will post lots of pics. Gotta clear the table first.

thymekiller

[Mad Cap Romanian]

I LOVE the black and Zebra paint job! Totally awesome!

[thymekiller]

Thanks. Its dollar store tissue, not paint. It comes in millions of colors and patterns. Might do a merry christmas plane.

thymekiller

[Mad Cap Romanian]

Like the kind for wraping gifts? That's awesome! I'll have to look out for that.

[thymekiller]

Thats wrapping paper. It will work but it wont shrink. Tissue comes from the craft section . It will be next to the wrapping paper.

thymekiller

[planejane]

Thats lends whole new meaning to "gift wrapping"