Posted by: Geoff Sobering on March 15, 2005 at 14:24:03:
In Reply to: Rules regarding the use of carbon fiber in DN construction posted by eric anderson on March 11, 2005 at 14:58:49:
Well, it's been awhile since my leeward mark sphincter riving...
I agree with Eric.
Carbon is now affordable, good Sitka *is* getting harder to find, and composite building techniques are now a standard part of (most) every DN builder's tool-box (let's see a show of hands, how many don't know how to work with composites? be honest...).
I think the focus should be on helping people build good DNs at the lowest cost rather than who might be using CNC-milled balsa cores with autoclave-cured pre-preg mega-modulus Carbon fiber. Instead I think we should be thinking about making it possible for someone to use Carbon in conjunction with any number of easily available light woods (ex. clear pine from Home Depot) and using careful wet layup techniques (no vacuum or peel-ply even).
I think that the hull specs would need to be ammended in the same way the mast rules were with the introduction of composites: add a specification for the maximum aft position of the center of mass of the fusleage in addition to the minimum weight spec. That would prevent anyone from building a feather-weight hull and adding a bunch of lead right over the plank.
Cheers,
Geoff S.
US-5156