Your opinion please.

[PAH]

Has anyone used the aerospace composite fin material from Giant Leap? I'm thinking about trying some for a current project but want to hear some opinions from others before I commit to purchasing some raw sheets.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[solrules]

Yes, my friend is using it in his 7x29mm "apocalypse". He is using that honeycomb stuff, and it is EXTRMELY light. It is very strong (except on the edges, where you need to reinforce with a thin dowel), light, and looks really cool. It cuts great on a table saw just fine, too. I would recommend it to anyone, as you save ALOT of weight in the aft of the rocket, allowing for bigger motors!! My only suggestion on this is to order a bit more than you think you will need, to test various ways of filling in the gap between the fiberglass sandwhich.

 

[KermieD]

I am very interested in this stuff as well. What I'm interested in, however, is not the weight, but the stiffness of the material, since I'm not allowed to use Mark's "stainless steel" advice. This is one solution I have been considering.

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Not only is it extremely light, it's also very stiff. I just got some of the 1/8" sheet stock from them, and it's about equivalent to 1/16th inch G10 for stiffness. I also have some 3/8" stuff and it's super-stiff! I plan to use this stuff more often in the future, particularly for rockets using long-burn motors like the J90, where weight is a real issue.

 

[PAH]

Thanks guys. I was also mainly concerned with the stiffness of the 1/8" material. I just ordered some to give it a try. Does anyone know the density of the material in the available sizes? I would love to add it to my RockSim material database.

Paul