Hi all, i'd like a little input/second opinion on the following, i'm just pondering ideas here.
As some of you know i'm building a minimax himax, and currently having problems sourcing the correct grade and thickness of ply. It's surprisingly difficult, and due to sizes of sheets the delivery costs are usually higher than the material cost. As a 'cheap' first plane, things arent really going ro plan!
However, given chopped strand mat is readily available (yes, e-glass), and mechanical properties being similar to ply, is there any reason why i couldnt replace all the plywood in the minimax with glass? Obviously i'd calculate the correct thicknesses and lay up several layers. I was thinking of waxing up and couple of large panes of window glass and using these as 'molds' to make large flat sheets of the desired thickness.
Should i just stop thinking out loud? Haha.
Robert
As some of you know i'm building a minimax himax, and currently having problems sourcing the correct grade and thickness of ply. It's surprisingly difficult, and due to sizes of sheets the delivery costs are usually higher than the material cost. As a 'cheap' first plane, things arent really going ro plan!
However, given chopped strand mat is readily available (yes, e-glass), and mechanical properties being similar to ply, is there any reason why i couldnt replace all the plywood in the minimax with glass? Obviously i'd calculate the correct thicknesses and lay up several layers. I was thinking of waxing up and couple of large panes of window glass and using these as 'molds' to make large flat sheets of the desired thickness.
Should i just stop thinking out loud? Haha.
Robert