• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

Chopped strand mat as a direct replacement for plywood?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Floydr92

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
419
Location
Scotland
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
 
Back
Top