WizardOfBoz
Well-Known Member
Super useful collection of thoughts, @JohnCoker , thanks!
Aside from the technical construction/strength issues, your point about using a strong tube to preserve the work done on paint jobs is an important one. I put a lot of effort into getting the paint on my DX3, and the buckled payload body tube (from using essentially a high explosive charge for the engine - an I566) was really a bummer. Either I had to re-glaze the spirals, reprime, and repaint the rather large 4" tube, or I had to spend significant time reinforcing the tube, sanding, priming, and repainting the place where the tube was slightly blemished. I did the latter. I still need to some other touchup but the checkerboard was a PITA and I would be sad to have to redo that.
Excellent article in Apogee's newsletter from a while back in which they compare paper, blue tube, and FWFG tubes. Authors claim that BT can handle about 5x the thrust of paper, and glass about 30 times the thrust of paper. It would be really interesting to have the data on FG sleeved paper tubes.
Here.
Earlier, I had asked here if BT was in the phenolic category. Apparently not: ARR claims advantages for BT over phenolic.

Aside from the technical construction/strength issues, your point about using a strong tube to preserve the work done on paint jobs is an important one. I put a lot of effort into getting the paint on my DX3, and the buckled payload body tube (from using essentially a high explosive charge for the engine - an I566) was really a bummer. Either I had to re-glaze the spirals, reprime, and repaint the rather large 4" tube, or I had to spend significant time reinforcing the tube, sanding, priming, and repainting the place where the tube was slightly blemished. I did the latter. I still need to some other touchup but the checkerboard was a PITA and I would be sad to have to redo that.
Excellent article in Apogee's newsletter from a while back in which they compare paper, blue tube, and FWFG tubes. Authors claim that BT can handle about 5x the thrust of paper, and glass about 30 times the thrust of paper. It would be really interesting to have the data on FG sleeved paper tubes.
Here.
Earlier, I had asked here if BT was in the phenolic category. Apparently not: ARR claims advantages for BT over phenolic.

Last edited: