Drifter foam rib help ?

[Gregory]

Hi everyone,

 

As some of you are aware, ive bought a drifter and am in the proccess of referbishing parts that i deam not acceptable.

 

Ive decided to replace all the tail feathers as the fabrics are very loose - covered in oil and ive heared "bits" rattling around inside as i move the elevators up and down.

 

Having only removed the rudder so far , ive noticed that some of the foam ribs have cracked and some brocken right through .

 

They seam to be made of styro foam ( the type the old fashioned cool light surfboards were made from ) .

 

Also they are wraped in some type of tape ? That has pretty much disintegrated!.

 

My question is should i replace the foam with a more modern foam ? And does anyone know what type of tape to use ?

 

Photo's attatched.

 

Thanks for any advice .

 

Cheers Greg.

 

 

 

 

 

[M61A1]

Drifter sail/skin fitting by Wayne Fisher

 

Check out the tailplane video on this thread. I'm pretty sure it covers what you need.

 

The tape is just fibreglass reinforced packing tape. There a a few different types of foam you can use.

 

 

[Gregory]

Thanks M61A1

 

 

[seb7701]

As M61A1 mentioned, the video of Wayne's tells you it's 'filament tape' which was used around the foam formers and also mentions the size. I got some a while back, so it's around. It also illustrates how to tension the skins. If they aren't rotten, perhaps they could be tightened up a little in the interim if there's enough fabric tail left to get a grip on. I'm afraid they all end up oil stained in the end...

 

 

[Gregory]

Thank you Seb 7701 , i appreciate your taking the time to help me out, and all the information i recieve on this forum

 

 

[KB59]

You might also like to re-shape the rudder ribs so one side is flat and the other side curved a bit like an airfoil on it`s side. I did this on my drifter when i recovered it some years ago. It totally eliminated the need for a fixed trim tab. Can`t quite remember but i think the top of the foil went to the starboard side. The tape is a Signet part number 10511 ( Cross weave filament tape )

 

Best of luck with your drifter

 

Ken

 

 

[old man emu]

It is not very hard to cut ribs from styrofoam using a hot wire cutter that you can make yourself for a few dollars.

 

Hot-wire foam cutter - Wikipedia

 

This video relates to making RC planes, but the process is the same. The video provides a very simple, clear description of the process.

 

Hot Wire Foam Cutting

 

The only things you might change are the temperature control method and power supply. To control the temperature, you could use a volume switch ($3.00 at Jaycar)

 

 

the Nichrome wire costs $5 for 4 metres

 

 

and for a current source you can use a 12V car battery.

 

I recommend that you use 3mm plywood for the rib templates (cut two - one for each side of the foam block), and that you try to use the DOW Bluefoam which is available from hobby shops and industrial suppliers all over the country. The advantage of this foam over the white "ESKY" type is that it is composed of finer particles; is denser, and much more resistant to deformation. It cuts a lot better that ESKY foam, too

 

 

OME

 

 

[Gregory]

Thanks so much Ken and OME , This info is gold to me.

 

 

[old man emu]

Try this mob in Perth for details on your local supplier, or someone who uses the stuff

 

WA Polystyrene - The Leading Supplier of Polystyrene in Perth, WA

 

 

[Gregory]

Thanks OME

 

 

[Downunder]

The styrofoam they use in model aircraft these days is very strong too. (Crash resistant)

 

You might want to chase up what exactly that is too.....

 

What about something like this..... StyroMAX

 

 

[rotax618]

The early Fishers used Dow Corning Blue extruded styrofoam. Later to make the tail stronger and make the fibs lessliable to break, Wayne used Divinicell or Klegecell PVC foam - can be quite pricey, if you can find a boatbuilder you may get an offcut.

 

 

[Gregory]

Thanks rotax618,

 

The only foam i could buy in my home town is a product called "knauf foam" ive done my research on it and am quite comfortale using it.

 

The original foam in my tail feathers is - old school white styrofoam ! .

 

 

[M61A1]

Thanks rotax618,The only foam i could buy in my home town is a product called "knauf foam" ive done my research on it and am quite comfortale using it.

The original foam in my tail feathers is - old school white styrofoam ! .

Should be just fine.....I used divinycell foam in my, but only because I had some laying around. It's been in there 5 years now and is doing fine.

 

 

[rotax618]

I used blue foam in the Boorabee tails, but I used fibreglass tape and epoxy resin to hold the ribs in plase and reinforce them, turned out very strong.

 

 

[Gregory]

Sounds good rotax618,

 

Would you mind elaberating on how you secured your tail ribs with epoxy and fibreglass tape as this is not one of my strong points , no rush , just at your leasure,

 

Cheers.

 

Just to add, ive heared of people who cover there tail sections with proper aircraft coverings

 

Im interested in this concept, but realise this cant be done on the main wing as there are no structure as such to support the covering .

 

 

[rotax618]

Cut the 30mm blue foam to rough shape with a hacksaw blade, shape with a sharp knife and sandpaper. Glue the foam to the tail tube frame with 5minute epoxy. Cut some strips of 5oz glass cloth on the bias. Paint the ribs with R180 epoxy resin, cover the ribs by wrapping 2 layers around the ribs and tubes, you need to fillet the edges of ribs so the glass cloth will conform to the shape.

 

If you are going to ceconite cover the tails and paint them you need to fibreglass the ribs, the fibreglass packaging tape used on the sailcloth tails decomposes to dust in a couple of years.

 

 

[Gregory]

Thanks so much rotax618

 

Much appreciated, cheers Greg.