Balsa vs plastic vs fiberglass nose cones

I really like the idea of making custom nose cones for my model and high power rockets. I am unsure of what type makes the most sense.

What type do you prefer and why.
Would fiberglass make sense for low power / model type.
If I started making them for other people possibly commercially, what type would most people like.
I know some companies use plastic and some others use balsa in there kits. Do you dislike the fact they use balsa over plastic or vise versa.

All info and help would much be appreciated

Thanks

I prefer balsa, just feels right. However, plastic is fine, and is in fact easier to add nose weight to. Fiberglass for low power seams over kill and over heavy.

Any well made cone is a joy. I've had some really crappy fiberglass and plastic cones as well as some really good ones of each type. In the end the material needs to match the application and for a nosecone the material has to stand up to the heat and forces of high speed flight (or not if the model is subsonic). Having said all of that, given the choice I'd work with filament wound fiberglass (not one of your three choices) simply because I like my nosecones to be smooth, strong, and symmetric.

For LPR... so I'm talking mostly BT60 and smaller tube diameters... I prefer plastic because properly done, there's less work to get ready for paint, plus the ease of adding nose weight if needed. However, a poorly molded plastic cone really sucks. I've spent lots of time filling mold seam lines and still not getting it quite right.

Balsa is cheaper to manufacture in small lots when you have many styles to make... making molds for plastic costs $$.

Fiberglass seems like overkill to me for LPR.

Marc

The more, the merrier!

I have used them all. Little rockets and bigger ones.

Variety is what I look for. Seems once you get over 2.6" diameter there is not much to choose from.


Jerome

I like what I can do with Balsa, shape wise, and lately, I found it is easy and fast to seal them with 50-50 water and wood glue, But, Nothing beats the ease of painting a plastic nose, and yeah, the weight addition is much easier too. A lot of MPR plastic nose cones seem to have crappy seams and mold marks. Fiberglass is a lot of extra work. My 2 cents...