Originally posted by akpilot
Okay, bring me in, what's carbon sleeve? And where do you get it?
Carbon fiber cloth woven into a seamless tube or sleeve.
See Aerosleeve.com
Far easier to work with than flat cloth. Intended to doing tubes.
For fins, stick the fins in the sleeve, pull the ends tight like a Chinese finger puzzle (with the leading edge against the edge of the sleeve, for easier finishing) and rub in your epoxy. The wood soaks up some so a second coat of epoxy helps make them end up smoother.
I then set them on wax paper, cover with more wax paper and a piece of sheetrock, and set 100 pounds of stuff on it to press them.
Next day, peel them off, trim with a knife, and sand down the edges. Pain with urethane, wet sand, repeat. Final coats of acrylic. Beautiful sexy 3D carbon fiber finish.
There's also fiberglass sleeve, but carbon loos so much cooler, and finished flatter. Glass needs a filler like Superfil to make flat.
The finish makes them tough to make stick to a sount but it can be done with regular HPR fin mount technique.
Balsa: it's not just for low power anymore.
